Gimme Shelter
by Renthead621
Summary: Collins student is running from the mob and needs a safe place to stay, so he stashes her at the loft. Romance ensues. All Rent characters minus Mimi and Angel plus an OC. Read and Review. Enjoy. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

"Collins, I don't know how to thank you. I didn't know what I was gonna do. Where I was gonna go." the young blond said as they walked up the stairs of the building on Avenue A on the way to the loft.

"Don't mention it Babygirl. You need somewhere safe to stay and I have friends who have an extra room, it's all good." he smiled carrying her bags.

"Are you sure your friends don't mind? I don't want to impose on anyone." she asked looking up at him as they stood outside the loft door.

"I'm positive. I mean, Mark doesn't mind, Roger on the other hand... well, just try to stay out of his way. He's a bit pissy at first, but once you get to know him, he's a great guy." he smiled looking down at her.

"Thank you again Collins. Really." she said looking up at him.

"Listen, you needed help and I could help you. It's the least I can do for my favorite student." he said looking down at her before opening the door.

"Hey, you're here. Hi, I'm Mark and..." Mark started just as Roger got up from the window seat and went into his room, slamming the door.

"That's Roger. You'll get used to him." Collins smiled looking down at her.

"Hi Mark, I'm Fiona. Thank you so much for this. I really appreciate you letting me stay here." she smiled looking up at him.

"Well you're more than welcome to stay as long as you need to. Just stay out of Roger's way for a little while. He's not good with new people at first." he smiled looking over at her.

"Watch it pumpking head, she just broke up with her fiance." Collins teased as Mark and Fiona looked down at their feet uncomfortably.

"No, I wasn't... I didn't mean to..." Mark stuttered looking up at Collins as he laughed.

"I'm kidding. Geez, you white boys are so jumpy." he laughed picking up Fiona's bags. "Come on sweetie, I'll show you to your room." he smiled looking down at her.

"It was nice meeting you Mark." she smiled looking over at him before following Collins to the bedroom where she's gonna be staying.

"Who was that?" Roger asked coming out of his room putting on his leather jacket.

"Well if you stayed to say hi, rather than running to your room, you'd know who it is." Mark said looking over at him.

"Well I didn't, so who was it?" Roger asked looking over at him.

"Collins student who needed a place to stay. The one that just broke up with her fiance. Remember, you agreed to this?" he asked looking over at him.

"Yeah. Right. I remember. Um... I'm going out for a little while. I'll be back later." he said looking over at him as he left the loft.

"Was that Roger?" Collins asked coming out of Fiona's room.

"Yeah, he's going out for a little bit. He'll be back later." he said looking over at him.

"Figures. Um, listen Mark. Fiona's had a really hard time lately and she really doesn't need Roger's less than friendly demeaner, if you catch my drift." Collins said quietly as he went into the kitchen for a beer.

"What do you mean?" he asked going over to him so Fiona wouldn't hear him.

"Her ex fiance isn't exactly a law abiding citizen. He's in a little criminal organization and she witnessed him tuning a guy up. He kind of threatened her life. She's kind of scared. When she came to me and asked for my help and I knew stashing her here would be perfect. This would be the last place he would look for her." he said opening his beer before taking a swig.

"You mean, a mobster?" Mark asked looking up at him.

"Yeah, you can say that." he said looking over at her.

"Did she go to the cops?" he asked looking up at him.

"Yeah, she tried to, but they wanted her to go back to him and find out more so they can build a case. There is no way she's doing that. He'll kill her just to keep her mouth shut." he said looking down at him.

"What about school? Doesn't he know she goes to NYU?" he asked looking up at him.

"Yeah, she had to drop out. If he ever found her there, there would be no way for me to protect her. She had to clean out her bank account and drop off the radar." he said looking over at him.

"Don't worry Collins. I'll take care of her." he said looking over at him.

"Thanks man. She's a good girl, you know? She just got involved with the wrong guy." he said looking over at him.

"I understand Collins. I'll keep her away from Roger. I wouldn't want him to scare her." he said looking up at him as Fiona came out of her room.

"Hey guys. Whatcha talking about?" she asked walking over to them.

"Nothing Babygirl. What do you want to do?" Collins asked putting his arm around her.

"I'm hungry. Do you guys have anything to eat around here?" she asked looking up at him.

"Sure. If you like ramen soup or cereal." Collins laughed looking over at her.

"OK. Is there any place around her we could go for a bite to eat. My treat." she smiled looking over at them.

"Are you sure going out is such a good idea Babygirl? What about your ex?" Collins asked looking over at her.

"He's more of an uptown type of guy. Isn't that why you decided to stash me down here? Because he wouldn't find me in the East Village. And anyway, I cut my hair. He wouldn't recognize me even if he came in and stared at me." she smiled looking up at him.

"OK, but I see one jamoke, we're out of there. Do you hear me?" Colliins said pointing at her.

"Deal." she laughed looking up at him before putting her coat on as they left the loft.

* * *

"I'm gonna go to bed, OK Mark? It's been a long day." Fiona smiled looking over at Mark.

"OK, good night Fiona. I'll see you in the morning." he smiled looking over at her.

"Mark. Thanks again. You have no idea how much you letting me stay here means to me." she smiled looking up at him.

"No problem. You needed somewhere safe to go and we had the room." Mark smiled looking up at her.

"Well whatever the reason, thanks Mark. I appreciate it." she smiled before going to her room.

"Where's the new girl?" Roger asked coming out of his room.

"Her name is Fiona and you could be a little nicer. She's been through a lot." Mark said looking over at him.

"Yeah well, the last thing I wanted was a new roommate." he said plopping down on the couch.

"But you agreed to let her stay here." Mark asked looking over at him.

"I only agreed because Collins made a good argument. I swear, he should have been a lawyer." he said looking over at him.

"Roger, just try to be nice to her, OK? That's all I'm asking." Mark asked looking over at him.

"What do you think Mark? I'm gonna make her cry? I'll be nice." he said looking up at him.

"Thanks Roger. I'm gonna go to bed. I'll see you in the morning." Mark said going to his room.

"Yeah, see ya." Roger said looking over at him before picking up the remote and turning the television on. As he sat there, he flipped through the channels looking for something to watch. Finally he caught a re run of Miami Vice. He tossed the remote onto the couch next to him and laid his head back.

"Oh... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to... Um... you must be Roger." Fiona stammered coming out of her room in a long night shirt.

"Yeah, you must be Fiona." he said sitting up straighter on the couch.

"I um... didn't mean to interrupt you. I was just coming out for a glass of water. I won't bother you." she said looking over at him before going to the kitchen.

"It's OK, I'm just watching a bad re run of Miami Vice. Do you um... want to watch it with me? We can make fun of Don Johnson's clothes." he asked looking up at her.

"No, it's OK. I'm just gonna go to bed. I'll see you in the morning." she said looking down at him before heading back to her room.

"Fiona, I'm sorry if I acted like I didn't want you here. I'm just not good with new people." he said getting up from the couch.

"It's OK Roger. I understand. I mean, it can't be easy having some girl you don't know just move into your apartment like I did. It's just, Collins knew I was in trouble and he offered to help me. I'm sorry for barging in like this." she said looking over at him.

"What happened? If you don't mind me asking." he asked looking over at her.

"Um... I was engaged to this guy who wasn't who I thought he was. I saw him hurt someone one day and he said if I ever told anyone he'd kill me. I struggled with what I was gonna do, but ultimately I knew what I had to do. I went to the police, but they wanted me to stay with him and help them make a case against him. They didn't care that my life was in danger. All they cared about was putting him and his "family" away. I needed to get out. All I wanted was my life back." she said looking down so he wouldn't see her breaking down.

"It's not your fault Fiona. You're safe now. No one's gonna hurt you. Me, Mark and Collins are gonna protect you. We're not gonna let anyone hurt you. I swear." he said looking over at her.

"Why would you do that? You don't even know me." she said looking up at him wiping her eyes.

"Because you're with us now. We're not gonna let him hurt you." he said looking over at her.

"Thanks Roger. I appreciate that." she smiled before sitting back on the couch to watch Miami Vice with him.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey. You're up early." Fiona smiled looking at Roger as she exited her room.

"Yeah, I um... couldn't sleep. Do you want coffee?" Roger asked sitting at the metal counter.

"Yeah, thanks. I didn't expect you up so early. Everything I heard about you suggested that you were a late sleeper." she laughed looking over at him.

"Usually I am. How do you take it?" he asked looking over at her.

"Black is fine. So um... what do you guys have around here for breakfast?" she asked opening the cabinets.

"Cereal or ramen." he laughed looking up at her.

"Yeah see, you guys really need to broaden your horizons. You know, get some eggs in here, maybe toast, pancake mix. Stuff for breakfast." she laughed looking over at him.

"Pancake mix? What do you think this is, uptown?" he laughed looking up at her.

"I'm gonna go in and get dressed. When I come back out, you better be ready to go." she smiled looking down at him.

"Go where?" he asked looking over at her.

"Road trip." she smiled taking her coffee into her room with her. Roger got up and went into his room to get dressed. He had only known Fiona for 9 hours, but what he knew about her he liked. She had short golden blond hair and blue eyes. She was funny and smelled so nice.

"Where are you going?" Mark asked seeing Roger come out of his room.

"Out with Fiona. We're gonna go to the store and get some real food." he smiled looking up at him.

"So you met Fiona. What do you think?" he asked pouring himself some coffee.

"She's nice. Um, Mark... did you know about why she's here?" he asked looking over at him.

"Yeah, Collins told me. When did you find out?" he asked looking over at him.

"Last night. I was watching tv and she came out for some water and we got to talking." he said putting his jacket on.

"Just make sure you keep her safe, OK?" Mark said looking over at him.

"Don't worry Mark. No one's gonna get anywhere near her." he said looking over at him as Fiona came out of her room.

"Are you ready?" she asked looking over at him putting her jacket on.

"Yeah, I'm ready. Do you have any requests for breakfast Mark?" he asked looking over at him.

"Yeah, bagels because when you two burn breakfast at least I'll have something to eat." he laughed looking over at them.

"I'll have you know, I can cook. But I require more than cereal and ramen soup." she laughed looking over at him.

"Someone who can cook, finally. I heard about it, but I thought it was just a myth." Roger laughed looking over at Fiona.

"Very funny. Come on. I wanna get the good bagels for Mark." Fiona laughed looking over at Roger before they left the loft.

"So what are we getting, exactly?" he asked looking down at her as they walked down the block.

"Real food. I'm sick of you guys only having cereal and soup." she laughed looking up at him as he scanned the block for anything suspicious.

"Mhm." he agreed looking around.

"Roger, he's not gonna find me here. He hates the East Village." she said looking up at him.

"Fee, I don't want anything to happen to you. You came here to be safe, I just want to make sure you are." he said looking over at her.

"Thanks Roger, but I'm fine. Now, let's go shopping. And no cereal or ramen, OK? You have to start eating better." she smiled looking up at him as he opened the door for her.

"You're not gonna make us start eating healthy, are you?" he whined looking down at her.

"Maybe. Would that be so bad?" she laughed looking up at him.

"Ugh, but I like my sugary cereal and junk food." he smiled looking down at her.

"Oh stop your whining. It's not like I'm gonna make you start eating tofu and vegetables. Much." she laughed looking up at him as they pushed the cart around the store.

* * *

"What did you guys get?" Mark asked looking up at them as they both carried bags into the loft.

"Crap." Roger answered as Fiona laughed at him

"Oh stop, bran is not gonna kill you." Fiona laughed looking up at him.

"It might." he laughed looking down at her.

"Well if the mobsters don't get us, you'll at least be healthy." she laughed taking the groceries out of the bags beginning to put them away when Roger stopped in his tracks.

"That's not funny Fee." he said looking down at her.

"I'm sorry. Roger, mobsters are not gonna kill us. We're perfectly safe here." she said looking up at him seeing that he was not amused.

"Fiona, you don't know that. The guy's a criminal. What makes you think he's not gonna scour the city to try and find you?" he asked leaning on the counter.

"Because they haven't arrested him yet. If they had, he'd know I ratted him out. As long as he's on a free man, he doesn't think I said anything. I'm fine Roger. Don't worry about it. Now, make yourself useful and help me put away these groceries." she said looking up at him.

"But how do you know he's not out to kill you to stop you from talking?" he said looking down at her.

"Well in that case, why don't I just hide out in my room and die? Because my life is over." she said looking over at him before running into her room.

"Fee wait." he called out as she slammed the door.

"Roger, what happened when you guys were out?" Mark asked looking up at him.

"Nothing. I mean, we talked and I was looking around to make sure I didn't see anything suspicious and she just acts like nothing is going on. Like everything is fine. She doesn't understand how serious this is. If this guy finds her, that's it. It's over." he said looking over at him.

"Roger, Collins knows what he's doing. He knows hiding her here is the best thing for her. He's not gonna find her. She's safe." he said looking up at him.

"I swore to her last night that we wouldn't let anything happen to her and she's acting like it's a game." he told him going towards Fiona's room. "Fee, I'm coming in." he called out opening the door.

"Roger, what do you want? Did you come in here to try and scare me again? Because I get it OK. I'm not gonna leave the apartment anymore. I'm just gonna stay here where it's safe." she asked looking up at him.

"No, listen Fee. I'm sorry for saying that. I just don't want anything to happen to you. I promised that we were gonna protect you and that's exactly what we're gonna do. But when you leave the loft and act like no one is after you, it's dangerous." he said looking down at her.

"Yeah well, what else am I supposed to do? Stay locked up in here? I cut my hair, so he wouldn't recognize me. I'm not the criminal, he is. Why should I be the one who has to live like one?" she asked looking up at him.

"You don't. Just stay put here for a little while. At least let the dust settle before you start going out again, OK?" he asked sitting on her bed.

"Roger, I had to quit school because of him. I'm 25 years old. I don't know if I'm ever gonna be able to go back. I'm not gonna let him stop me from going grocery shopping. I may hate it, but at this point it's all I have." she said looking over at him.

"I'm just worried about you Fee. I know if you left me, I wouldn't be so eager to let you out of my life and I'm not a criminal." he said looking over at her as he looked down at the floor.

"Strangely enough, that is the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me." she smiled looking over at him.

"I'm sorry for that." he said looking over at her.

"Well I dated nothing but losers and criminals my whole life." she said looking over at him.

"How come you started college so late?" he asked looking over at her.

"I had to save up the money. My parents died when I was really young and I was a ward of the state my whole life. I'm putting myself through college. At least I was until I got involved with Jake. I was the hostess in this restaurant he liked to go to. Then he didn't want me working and volunteered to pay my way through school. He was so convincing, you know? I mean, he told me that I should be focusing on school. Not working all the time. I was so stupid." she said getting up from the bed.

"You know, if you want to go back I can go with you. For protection." he said looking over at her.

"I don't want you guys to be in danger because you tried to help me." she said looking over at him.

"Fee, I can take care of myself. The last thing I'm worried about is getting hurt by mobsters." he said getting up from the bed.

"What do you mean?" she asked looking over at him.

"I'm HIV positive Fee. So you see, I'm not afraid of those guys." he said looking over at her.

"I'm sorry Roger... um... I didn't know." she said going over to him.

"It's OK. I mean, I'm healthy." he said looking down at her.

"I'm glad I have friends like you on my side." she smiled looking up at him.

"Well, you're one of us now. We're not gonna let anything happen to you." he smiled looking down at her.

"I'll be careful from now on, OK? I wouldn't want to leave my new friends." she smiled looking up at him.

"Come on. You can cook breakfast for your new friends." he laughed putting his arm around her shoulders.

"You're gonna eat a lot, aren't you?" she laughed looking up at him.

"Maybe." he laughed as they left thet room.


	3. Chapter 3

_3 Weeks Later_

"Roger, I'm freaking out here. I'm sick of being stuck in this loft all the damn time." Fiona complained coming out of her room as Roger strummed his guitar on the couch.

"Fee, would you stop bitching please? I'm trying to write a song." Roger yelled looking up at her.

"Roger it's been almost a month. I need to get out of here." she yelled back looking down at him.

"Well you can't, so just deal with it." he told her putting his guitar down.

"I'm sick of being a prisoner here." she told him sitting on the couch next to him.

"Fine, you want to go outside. Let's go outside." he told her getting up before taking her hand and leading her out the door.

"Where are we going?" she asked as he led her out of the loft.

"You'll see." he said leading up to the roof.

"We've been up here a million times." she complained looking up at him.

"Well you're outside." he said looking down at her.

"I'm sorry I'm being such a pain in the ass. I'm getting cabin fever in there." she said looking up at him.

"I know, but we have to make sure it's safe for you before you start wondering around Alphabet City." he said looking down at her.

"Roger, it's safe. It's been almost a month. Can we please go somewhere? The Life Cafe? The park? Anywhere but here, please." she asked looking up at him.

"Fee..." he started when she cut him off.

"Roger, I need to get out of here, please. You can come with me if it'll make you feel better." she offered looking up at him. Her blue eyes made it impossible for him to say no.

"Fine Fee, but when I think it's unsafe, we leave. No argument. And you stay with me the whole time." he told her setting down ground rules.

"Thank you Roger. I'm gonna go get my jacket and stuff on." she squealed jumping up to hug him before going down to the loft.

"Yeah, yeah." he mumbled following her at a slower pace.

"Where did you guys go?" Mark asked as Roger entered the loft.

"The roof. Fee's driving me crazy. We're going to the park." he said looking over at him.

"Are you sure it's a good idea? Her leaving the loft?" he asked looking over at her.

"She's freaking out and driving me insane. I figure, we go out for a little while and she's be fine. I'll be with her the whole time." he said looking over at him.

"OK, just be careful Roger, OK? Jake might have guys out looking for her." Mark said looking over at him.

"I know Mark. I'm not a retard. She'll be OK." he said as she came out of her room.

"Are you ready Roger?" she asked smiling up at him.

"Yeah, I'm ready. Mark, do you want us to pick anything up for you? I figured maybe we'll go to the store on our way back." Roger asked looking over at Mark.

"Yeah, we need more milk." he said looking over at them.

"Cool. We'll be back later." Fiona smiled looking up Mark as she went towards the loft door.

"Bye Mark." Roger said looking over at him.

"Be careful." he called out looking over at them.

"We will." Fiona yelled rushing down the stairs. "Ahh freedom." she called out raising her arms into the air as she stepped outside.

"I never realized what a drama queen you are. No wonder why you and Maureen get along so well." he laughed looking over at her.

"Yeah, you be forced to stay in that stale, stinky loft for a whole month." she laughed looking up at him.

"I do it all the time." he said looking down at her.

"Yeah, but you do it voluntarily." she laughed as they started towards the park. "So when are you gonna start a new band?" she asked looking up at him.

"What makes you think I want to start another band?" he asked looking down at her.

"Roger, you've been writing songs all month. If you don't want to start another band, why would you be writing?" she asked looking up at him.

"Song. I've been writing a song all month." he said looking over at her.

"One song? But you've been doing it all week." she pointed out looking up at him.

"I'm having a hard time. Ever since Mimi left, I can't seem to get the words and music to come together." he said looking over at her.

"I'm sorry Roger. I didn't know. But you are gonna start a new band, right? I mean, you're really good. What I've heard anyway." she said looking over at him.

"Thanks." he smiled looking around for anyone suspicious.

"Roger, we're safe here. Don't worry about it." she said linking arms with him.

"Does that guy look like he's a little lost?" he asked looking over at a guy in a suit.

"Roger, he probably works in the area. Don't be so paranoid." she said looking up at him as Roger noticed the guy looking at them.

"I don't want to take any chances. Come on." he said taking her hand and leading her out of the park. He noticed the guy got up and started following them.

"Roger, what are you doing?" she complained looking up at him.

"Fee, run." he told her holding her hand and running. The guy in the suit began walking faster.

"Oh my God, he found me." she said running behind Roger.

"Calm down, we just have to get back to the building." he said looking back at her before they rushed behind a building.

"Roger, what am I gonna do? His goons found me." she asked looking up at him.

"It'll be OK. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you. I promise. Just stay quiet." he whispered looking down at her.

"I'm sorry Roger. I didn't mean to put you in danger. That's the last thing I wanted." she whispered starting to cry.

"It's OK Fee. Just calm down. I'll get you back to the loft and you'll be safe." he said putting his arms around her.

"But he saw you with me. Now you're in danger too." she said looking up at him.

"It'll be OK Fee, just stay close to me, alright?" he said looking down at her.

"OK." she sniffled looking up at him.

"I think it's safe, come on. We only have a couple of blocks to go." he said as they stepped out of the alley and started towards the loft.

"I'm never gonna be free, am I? He's always gonna find me." she cried as they entered the building.

"It's OK Fee, you're safe now. We weren't followed." he said looking down at her as she sat on the steps.

"It doesn't matter. It's never gonna be over. He's not gonna let me live. He'll never stop looking for me. And now he knows in here." she cried burying her face into her hands.

"Fiona, listen to me. You'll be OK. He doesn't know you're staying here. All he knows is that one of his guys saw you in the park. He doesn't know you're here." he said putting his arms around her.

"I can't stay here anymore Roger. I can't put you and Mark in danger anymore than I already have." she cried looking up at him.

"Fee, it's OK. Just calm down. Me and Mark can take care of ourselves." he said looking down at her.

"Roger, I'm so sorry. For everything, but I have to go. I have to get out of here. I can't stay here any more." she cried getting up and rushing up the stairs to the loft.

"Fee wait." he called out running after her.

"Roger, I can't anymore. Just let me go." she cried as she entered the loft and rushed towards her room.

"Roger, what happened?" Mark asked looking over at him.

"One of Jake's guys saw us in the park. We lost him, but she's scared and she wants to leave." he said going towards her room.

"Where is she gonna go?" Mark asked going with him.

"I don't know Mark." he said looking back at him before opening Fiona's door. "Fee, where are you gonna go?" he asked looking over at her as she started packing her clothes.

"I don't know Roger, but I can't put you guys in danger anymore than I already have." she told him through her tears.

"Fee, it's OK. You're safe now. We lost the guy. He didn't follow us." he said going over to her.

"For how long Roger? I can't leave the loft without worrying about someone finding me and putting you or anyone I'm with in danger. I can't do it anymore. I gotta get out of the city." she yelled at him.

"Fiona stop. You're not going anywhere." he yelled looking down at her.

"What are you gonna do Roger? Hold me hostage? I need to leave so no one hurts you." she asked looking up at him.

"Please don't go Fee. Please." he pleaded looking down at her.

"Why? HIV isn't enough of a challenge for you? You need to have gangsters looking for you too? Because that's what's gonna happen. He saw you with me. Now he's gonna be after you too. I can't let anything happen to you." she yelled looking over at him.

"No, because I have feelings for you." he yelled plopping down on the bed.

"Um... you..." she stammered looking down at him.

"I have feelings for you Fee. I can't let you walk out of my life." he said looking up at her.

"Roger, I have feelings for you too, but my life is so complicated. I have Jake's gangster buddies after me and I don't want to put your life in danger anymore than I already have." she said quietly sitting next to him.

"I don't care about that Fee. All I care about is you and not losing you." he said looking over at her.

"How can I ask you to do that? It's not fair to you. Before I came along you had a life. Now you have mobsters chasing after you." she said looking over at him.

"No, I didn't have a life. I was just existing. Ever since you came here, I've been happier then I've been in a long time." he said looking down at her.

"But Roger..." she started looking up at him.

"Fee, stop." he whispered leaning down to kiss her.

"Roger, how are we gonna do this?" he asked looking up at him.

"We'll figure it out Fee. I wanna be with you and I know you want to be with me." he said looking down at her.

"I do wanna be with you Roger. I just don't want you to get killed because you want to be with me." she wept looking up at him.

"I'll be fine Fee. It's OK. Just say you'll stay so we can be together." he said reaching up to caress her wet face.

"OK Roger. I'll stay." she smiled looking up into his green eyes before he leaned down to kiss her again.

"OK. Um... I was thinking, since we can't go out, why don't I try to make something for us on the roof?" he suggested looking down at her.

"You're gonna cook? This should be interesting." she laughed looking up at him.

"I can cook somethings. Kind of." he laughed looking down at her.

"How about we cook something together? I can teach you for the next time so you can make me something all by yourself." she suggested looking up at him.

"Oh yeah?" he laughed tackling her down to the bed to kiss her.

"Yeah. You'll be a good cook yet." she laughed leaning up to kiss him as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeper.

"I like kissing you Fee." he smiled looking down into her blue eyes.

"I like kissing you too Roger." she smiled looking up at him.


	4. Chapter 4

"Are you sure it's a good idea for you and Fiona to get involved? I mean her ex fiance is a mobster." Maureen asked looking over at Roger as they shopped for food for dinner that night.

"I don't care about that Maureen. I like her and she likes me." he said looking down at the list Fiona gave him.

"Yeah, but how are you gonna do things if she can't leave the loft without worrying about guys looking for her?" she asked looking up at him.

"It'll be fine. Don't worry about it Maureen." he said picking up a package of chicken cutlet. "Do these look lean?" he asked handing her the chicken cutlet.

"Yeah Roger, they look lean." she smiled looking up at him as she put them in the shopping cart.

"OK, now we have to get bread crumb things. Whatever the hell that is." he said walking down the aisles looking for bread crumbs.

"What kind does she want?" Maureen asked reaching up for a can of bread crumbs.

"I don't know. How many kinds are there?" he asked looking over at her.

"Italian seasoned and plain." she said looking over at him.

"Italian. I think. God I hate shopping without her. I never know what to get." he said looking down at the bread crumbs can.

"Just get the italian flavored one. Now what else did she put on the list?" she asked as he pulled the list away from her line of sight.

"Peppers and then we're out of here." he said folding the list up and putting it in his pocket.

"What else is on the list?" she asked reaching into his back pocket for the list.

"Um.. Maureen, that was my ass you just touched." he told her turning around.

"Oh please, nothing I haven't seen before." she laughed opening up the paper.

"What do you mean nothing you haven't seen before? When did you see my ass?" he asked looking down at her.

"We lived together for 2 years Roger. Do you remember all those times I walked into the bathroom by accident when you were in the shower?" she asked looking up at him.

"Yeah." he answered suspicious.

"Not an accident." she smiled looking down at the list. "Champagne and condoms? You have big dreams for your first date." she asked looking up at him.

"Fee made the list. I didn't even see it until just now. What am I gonna do Maureen?" he asked looking down at her.

"You get champagne and condoms and see how the date goes. Roger, it'll be OK. She really likes you." she smiled looking up at him.

"I like her too Maureen. I haven't felt this way about anyone in a really long time. I just don't want to get her sick." he said looking over at her.

"You're not gonna get her sick. Just be careful and everything is gonna be OK." she smiled looking up at him.

"OK, let's get the peppers, champagne and... other things and get out of here." he said looking over at her.

"OK Roger. Let's go." she smiled looking up at him as they continued their shopping.

* * *

"Why did you make so much? It's only the 2 of us." Roger asked turning the chicken cutlets. 

"Mark and Collins. I wouldn't want them to have to fend for themselves. Knowing them, they'll eat cereal or ramen." she laughed looking up at him.

"Not since you threw all the cereal and ramen away." he laughed looking over at her.

"There's no reason for you guys to eat junk all the time. I'm here to cook for you. Now come over here. I want to show you how to peel the red peppers." she smiled looking up him.

"OK Baby." he smiled looking down at her.

"OK, now just peel the roasted pepper gently like this." she smiled helping him peel the peppers as he stared down at her.

"You look so beautiful when you do that." he smiled looking down at her.

"Roger, you have to pay attention or you're not gonna know how to do this." she laughed looking up at him.

"I like watching you do it." he smiled wrapping his arms around her waist from behind and kissing her neck.

"Roger, do you even want to eat?" she laughed turning around to wrap her arms around his neck.

"I could wait." he smiled leaning down to kiss her.

"But this dinner was your idea." she whined looking at him.

"I know, I wanted our first date to be romantic." he smiled gazing into her blue eyes.

"I never realized what a fluff ball you were." she laughed looking up at him.

"I am when it comes to you." he smiled kissing her again.

"Well Mr. Fluff Ball, the sooner we get done with dinner, the sooner we can do this." she smiled pulling him into a long passionate kiss.

"Ugh Fee. That's not giving me motivation." he groaned looking down at her.

"I'm sorry Mr. Fluff Ball. Can we get this done? Please." she asked in a sweet voice.

"Fine." he agreed reluctantly looking down at her.

"Thank you." she giggled turning around continuing to peel the peppers.

* * *

"Are you sure it's not gonna rain?" Roger asked setting up the table on the roof with Mark and Collins. 

"Positive. It's supposed to be clear skies until Tuesday. Do you have enough candles?" Collins asked setting up a bucket he filled with ice for the champagne.

"Yeah, I brought all of the candles we have." Roger said setting up the candles along the ledge.

"I can't believe how all out you're going. I've never seen you like this." Mark smiled looking over at Roger as he set up the table and chairs.

"I like her Mark. I've never felt this way about anyone before. I mean, usually I'd bring a girl to a club or something so she could hear me sing and stuff. But we can't go out because of the guys that are after her, so I had to figure out something cool to do for our first date." he said looking over at him.

"I think it's cute. I've never seen you like this. You're learning how to cook, you're setting up a romantic dinner for 2 on the roof. I like seeing this side of you." Collins smiled looking over at him.

"She calls me Mr. Fluff Ball." he laughed looking over at him.

"Mr. Fluff Ball? I never pegged her for someone who would have an annoying nickname for the object of her affection." Collins laughed looking over at him.

"Well I like when she turns me into a ball of fluff. All I have to do is look into those amazing eyes of hers and I'm friggin melting." he smiled thinking of Fiona.

"What did you guys make?" Mark asked looking up at him.

"Breaded chicken cutlet with roasted red peppers." he smiled looking down at him.

"You learned how to cook breaded chicken cutlet with roasted red peppers? That's cool." Collins smiled looking over at him.

"Is there any for us?" Mark asked smiling up at him.

"Yeah, she made sure she made enough for everyone. She was afraid you guys were gonna have cereal or ramen and you know how she feels about that." he laughed looking down at him.

"Yesss. I love Fee's cooking." Mark laughed looking up at him.

"Yeah, we can tell." Roger laughed looking over at him.

"What? We never ate so well." Mark smiled looking over at him.

"Yeah well, she's my girl so don't you forget it." he smiled looking down at her.

"You guys look good together. Really." Collins smiled looking up at him.

"She makes us look good. Now let's get this done. I want everything to be perfect for Fee." he smiled looking over at them.

"Sure Roger. We'll make sure everything is perfect for you and Fee for your first date." Mark smiled as they finished setting up the roof.

* * *

"Are you almost ready Fee?" Roger called out coming out of his room. He was wearing black jeans and a button down shirt. 

"Um... yeah. Gimme a minute." she yelled fixing her hair.

"I'm gonna start bringing the food upstairs, OK?" he told her picking up the plates and bringing them to the roof.

"OK Baby." she called out putting lip gloss on. When she was done, she looked at herself in the mirror. She was nervous. The last guy she dated was Jake. He used to take her to expensive restaurants and huge concerts. She should have known sooner that he was a mobster by the way people acted towards him. He had the best of everything. Cars, clothes everything. But here she was, living in a scarsely furnished loft and dating a guy she barely knew a few weeks ago. She gave herself one last look and left the room. When she arrived on the roof, Roger was opening the champagne bottle. "Hey Baby." she smiled looking over at him.

"Fee, you look amazing." he smiled turning to look at her.

"Thank you. You don't look too bad yourself." she smiled walking over to him. She was wearing a baby pink dress and pink high heels. Her short blond hair was swept off of her face and she was wearing bronze lip gloss. Black eyeliner lined her eyes and she was wearing rose eyeshadow.

"I'm serious Fee, you look gorgeous. I feel under dressed now." he said looking down at her.

"You look great Roger. Really." she smiled leaning up to kiss him.

"Are you ready for a romantic dinner for two?" he smiled looking down at her.

"Yes I am. Thank you." she smiled as he pulled her chair out for her to sit down.

"I would like to propose a toast. To us and whatever is happening between us." he smiled holding up the champagne glass as she picked hers up.

"To us." she smiled looking over at him before taking a sip of her champagne.

"Um Fee, can I ask you something?" he asked looking over at her as he put his champagne glass down.

"Sure. What's up?" she asked picking up her fork to start eating.

"Would it be OK if we took things slow? I mean, I know we have condoms and everything, it's just... with you being negative, I don't want to hurt you." he said as she put her fork down.

"Roger, I'm a big girl, you know? I know the risks. That's why I asked you to get condoms. I want to be with you without you worrying about hurting me." she said getting up to sit on his lap.

"It's just... if I ever hurt you Fee, I don't know what I would do." he said looking up at her.

"You could never hurt me Roger. That much I know." she smiled leaning down to kiss him.

"I won't. Not intentionally anyway." he whispered reaching up to caress her face.

"I know that Roger. I trust you." she smiled running her fingers through his short bleach blond hair. "If it makes you feel better, we'll take things slow." she agreed smiling at him.

"Thanks Fee." he smiled holding her close.


	5. Chapter 5

"Roger, we've been dating for almost 3 weeks. How slow do you want to take this?" she asked looking over at him as they sat on the couch.

"Fee, I just want to be careful." he said looking over at her.

"But Roger, I don't want to wait any longer." she said looking over at him.

"I just can't Fee. Not yet." he said getting up from the couch.

"Roger, I'm gonna be OK, you know? You're not gonna hurt me." she said looking up at him.

"I just want to make sure Fee. I'm in love with you." he said looking down at her.

"You're in love with me? Um...I'm in love with you too Roger." she smiled getting up to go to him.

"That's why I can't sleep with you yet. I don't want you to get hurt just because you love me. I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you." he said looking down at her.

"Nothing is gonna happen to me Roger. You've done nothing but make sure I was safe since the day we met. You couldn't hurt me. You're not capable of it." she said caressing his arm.

"I just love you Fee. I don't want to hurt you just when I'm trying to show you." he said looking down at her.

"Roger, we have condoms. I want to show you that I love you too. I want to be with you." she smiled looking up at him.

"I want to be with you too Fiona. You have no idea how hard it is seeing you everyday and not pick you up and carry you into the bedroom." he said wrapping his arms around her.

"Carry me into the bedroom, huh? That sounds interesting." she smiled looking up at him.

"Well I love you Fee. I want our first time to be special." he smiled looking down at her.

"It'll be with you, of course it'll be special." she smiled leaning up to kiss him. "I love you Roger." she whispered as he leaned down to pick her up.

"I love you too Fee." he whispered carrying her into the bedroom to make love.

"Roger, that was better than I imagined it would be." she smiled looking up at him.

"I love you Fiona." he smiled caressing her bare shoulder before leaning down to kiss her head.

"I love you too Roger." she smiled leaning up to kiss him.

"Are you hungry?" he asked looking into her blue eyes.

"Starving. What do you want for dinner?" she asked looking up at him.

"How about you stay here and I'll make dinner tonight?" he suggested looking down at her.

"You're gonna cook? Are you serious?" she laughed looking up at him.

"Yeah, I'm serious Fee. I want to make dinner for you. You've been teaching me how to cook and I think I'm doing pretty good. I want to make something special for you." he smiled caressing her face.

"OK, deal." she smiled looking up at him. "But um... I'm gonna supervise. You know, just in case you need someone to call 911 or something." she laughed leaning in to kiss him.

"Oh yeah." he laughed rolling her over onto her back and pinning her hands above her head.

"Yeah Mr. Fluff Ball. What are you gonna do about it?" she laughed looking up at him.

"This." he told her kissing her neck tickling her.

"Roger stop. You know I'm ticklish." she squealed squirming on the bed to try to get free.

"I know your ticklish. That's why I'm doing it." he laughed looking over at her.

"I never knew you were such a child." she laughed looking into his eyes.

"Well I am with you." he smiled looking down at her.

"Come on, let's make dinner." he smiled leaning down to kiss her.

"OK Roger, let's go." she smiled as they got up and got dressed.

"You are so beautiful." Roger smiled looking over at her as she put one of Roger's rock shirts on.

"And you are stalling." she laughed looking over at him.

"No I'm not. I can't wait to make dinner for you." he smiled looking over at her.

"What about Mark?" she asked looking over at him.

"What about him?" he asked looking over at her.

"What are we gonna tell him about us?" she asked sitting on his bed.

"He knows we're dating Fee. It was only a matter of time before we started sleeping together." he said sitting next to him.

"Yeah, but things are different now. I'm gonna have to go to the clinic with you every month for an HIV test and it's gonna be more uncomfortable for him now." she said looking over at him.

"Fee, do you regret us sleeping together?" he asked looking over at her.

"No. Oh my God Roger, no. I could never regret anything about us. I'm in love with you. I'm just saying for Mark. Things are gonna get complicated for him with us taking our relationship to the next level. He's gonna start worrying more. About me being positive and getting tested and everything." she said reaching up to caress his face.

"Fiona, if you ever started regretting us... I don't know..." he started looking over at her as she interrupted him.

"Roger, I could never regret us. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me." she smiled leaning up to kiss him.

"You're the best thing that's ever happened to me too Fee. I worry about you being positive. That's why I was reluctant for us to sleep together. If I ever hurt you... I don't... I don't know." he said getting up from the bed.

"Roger, we've been over this. You could never hurt me. We're careful and I'm gonna get tested every month. All you've ever done is love me and protect me. Please don't start regretting us being together." she said getting up to go to him.

"I do love you Fee. I've never felt this way about anyone before. When I'm with you, I feel like nothing can touch me. I don't regret us being together. I just want to keep taking care of you." he said wrapping his arms around her.

"So keep taking care of me. Just like I'm gonna keep taking care of you." she smiled looking up at him.

"OK Fee. Now come on Baby. I'll make you dinner." he smiled leaning down to kiss her.

"OK Baby." she smiled holding him close before leaving the room.

* * *

"Mmmm, what's for dinner?" Mark asked entering the loft. 

"I'm making that chicken stuff that Fee likes so much." Roger smiled standing over the stove.

"You're cooking? Where's Fee?" he asked looking around.

"The most beautiful woman in the world is in her room. She needed to get changed." he smiled continuing to cook.

"There's something different about you. But I can't put my finger on it." Mark smiled looking over at him putting his bag down.

"I told her I love her and we took our relationship to the next level." he smiled looking over at him.

"You slept with her? I thought you were against sleeping with her. What about your HIV?" he asked looking over at him.

"I was, but I'm in love with her Mark. And we're being careful, I swear. You know I would never put her life at risk." he said looking over at him.

"I hope you know what you're going Roger." Mark asked looking over at him.

"I do Mark. We're in love. Just don't worry about her, OK? I'll worry enough for both of us." Roger said as Fiona entered the room.

"Roger, you don't have to worry about me. Neither of you do. I'm a big girl." she said entering the kitchen.

"That's not what I meant Fee." Roger said looking over at her.

"Yeah it is Roger. You've been worrying about me since the day we met and it's OK. I'm just saying, you don't need to. I can take care of myself." she smiled looking up at him.

"I know yow, I just want to make sure you're OK." he said looking down at her.

"I'm fine Roger. Check the cutlets." she smiled before leaning up to kiss him.

"Yes Fee." he smiled looking down at her before taking the chicken cutlets out of the pan.

"And yes Mark. We're making enough for you too." she smiled sitting on the stool at the metal counter.

"Thanks Fee. I knew you wouldn't make me starve." he laughed looking over at her.

"How about we call Collins, Maureen and Joanne and we can have a dinner party?" she suggested as Roger turned around to look at her.

"A dinner party? But I thought we were gonna have a romantic dinner for 2?" Roger asked looking over at her.

"We can do that anytime. I wanted to hang out with everyone tonight. Please Baby." she asked batting her eye lashes at him.

"You know I hate when you do that." he said looking down at her.

"What? What do I do?" she asked innocently.

"Turn him into a fluff ball." Mark laughed as Roger looked over at him.

"He's my Mr. Fluff Ball." she laughed looking over at him.

"Yes I am Baby." he smiled leaning down to kiss her as Mark went to the phone.


	6. Chapter 6

"Mark, I have to go out sooner or later. I can't tell you what to get if I don't know what I want to get myself." she complained looking up at him as she washed the dishes.

"Fee, I'm not taking you out. If Roger finds out I took you out, I'm a dead man. Literally." he told her drying the dishes.

"But he's the one I wanna buy something for. Come on Mark. We'll only be out for a little while. I'll wear a hat and sunglasses if it makes you feel better." she said looking over at him.

"Why don't you wait for Roger to get home? I don't want to be held responsible if anyone sees us." he said looking over at her.

"Mark, come on. I've been stuck in this loft for 2 months. I'm sure Jake forgot all about me." she said looking up at him.

"I don't want to take that chance." he said looking over at her.

"Mark, I'm gonna have to venture out sooner or later. With Roger in a band, he's gonna be performing and I want to be able to see him play." she said turning the water off.

"That's up to Roger. I'm not gonna get in the middle of it." he said walking away from her.

"Getting in the middle of what? Mark, Roger's at band practice. By the time he gets home, we'll be there and back. Come on. Where's your sense of romance?" she asked looking up at him.

"It'll be up my ass if Roger finds out you left the loft and I went with you." he told her sitting on the couch.

"Well Mark, I'm going whether you come with me or not, so if you're not ready by the time I get my stuff on, you're staying here." she said looking over at him as she went to her room. Mark looked up. He knew taking Fiona out was a bad idea, but if he didn't go with her, she would only go anyway. He wished Roger was there. He knew he could make her see that going out was a bad idea. But he wasn't there, so all Mark could do was go with her and make sure she would be safe. "Ready Mark?" she asked putting the NY Mets hat on and a pair of sunglasses.

"You look ridiculous, you know that right?" he asked laughing at her.

"Well at least no one will recognize me." she laughed looking over at him.

"There and back Fee, do you hear me?" he asked looking over at her.

"Yes Mark. There and back." she smiled looking over at him as they left the loft.

* * *

"Where the hell have you two been?" Roger asked getting up from the couch as Mark and Fiona entered the loft.

"We went out so I could get you something special. Hi Baby." she smiled walking over to Roger leaning up to kiss him but he pulled away.

"Don't Hi Baby me. I was worried sick about you. What made you think leaving the loft was a good idea?" he asked looking down at her as Mark went to his room.

"I wanted to go out and get you something. What's the harm in that? No one saw us, in case you were worried about that." she said throwing the shopping bag onto the couch.

"Of course I was worried about that. Fee, what if he's still looking for you?" he asked looking down at her.

"He's not. He probably thinks after that guy saw us in the park that I left town. I'm fine, see." she yelled walking away from him.

"How do you know that Fee?" he asked looking over at her.

"Why do you always have to be so over protective all the damn time? Mark came with me and I wore a hat and sunglasses. No one would have known it was me anyway." she asked looking up at him.

"I can't believe I trusted Mark to stay here with you." he said looking over at her.

"Don't blame Mark. I'm 25 years old Roger. I made him take me out. I'm sick and tired of living like this. I want to be able to go out and hang out with my boyfriend and my friends." she yelled looking over at him.

"Fee, it's for your own safety." he said looking over at her.

"Yeah and what about when you start performing? I'm not gonna watch it on film." she said looking over at him.

"We'll see Fee." he said looking over at her.

"No, we won't see. I'm going to whatever club you're playing at and I will be there front row center to cheer you on. And you're not gonna stop me." she yelled running into her room.

"Fee, get back here." he yelled as she slammed her door. "DAMMIT." he yelled as Mark came out of his room.

"Roger, I'm really sorry I took Fee out. I knew it was a bad idea, but you weren't here and she said she was gonna go out anyway, so either I go with her or she'll go alone." Mark said looking over at him.

"I know. I just wish I was here to talk her out of it. She doesn't realize how dangerous it is for her to be out." he said sitting on the couch next to the shopping bag.

"She does realize Roger. It's just really hard for her. I was looking around the whole time and didn't see anyone suspicious if it makes you feel better." he said looking over at him.

"I love her Mark. I don't want anything to happen to her." he said looking over at him.

"I know Roger. She loves you too. She bought you something." he said looking at the bag that was next to him.

"She didn't have to get me anything. All I need is for her to be safe." he said picking the bag up and taking out what was in it. As he opened the box, he squeezed his eyes shut. "Oh man. I'm such an idiot." he said looking down at his hand.

"Roger you just love her. She knows that." he said looking down at him.

"No, she doesn't. I yelled at her really bad. I have to go in and apologize to her." he said taking the box with him. "Fee, Baby. Can I talk to you?" he asked opening the door.

"Go away Roger. I don't want to talk to you right now." she cried without looking up from her pillow.

"Fee, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have freaked out like I did. I was just really scared for you." he said walking over to sit on her bed.

"Roger, all I wanted to do was go out and buy you something nice to show you how much I love you and you yelled at me like I was a child." she yelled looking up at him.

"I know. I'm sorry. It's beautiful Fee. I love it." he said taking the chain out of it's box and looking down at the guitar charm that was on it.

"I've been wanting to get it for you for a while, but I'm not allowed out of the loft. I thought today would be perfect because you were at band practice and we would be there and back before you even knew I was gone, but the jeweler took longer engraving it than I thought." she said sitting up in the bed wiping her eyes.

"It's engraved?" he asked turning it over. "This is amazing Fee." he smiled reading the inscription to himself. It read. "Roger, I love you, Fee."

"Well I do love you Roger." she said folding her legs in front of her.

"I love you too Fee. I just don't want anything to happen to you. I'm sorry I was such a jerk." he said moving closer to her.

"Roger, you've protected me since the first day I got here. I just wanted to do something special for you. You deserve so much more, but more would take a lot longer." she smiled looking up into his green eyes.

"I have all I've ever wanted Fee. I have you." he smiled leaning in to kiss her.

"You'll always have me Roger. I'm not going anywhere." she smiled looking up at him before wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him close to her.

"So no one saw you?" he asked looking down at her.

"Nope. And Mark was looking. He doesn't think I noticed, but he was really obvious." she laughed looking up at him.

"Maybe we could go out tonight. Like to a movie or something." he asked looking down at her.

"Really? You mean it?" she asked looking up at him excitedly.

"Yeah, and how about you leave your Mets hat at home? I can't be seen with one of you in public." he laughed looking down at her.

"God, I hate Yankee fans." she laughed looking up at him.

"At least we're a winning team." he taunted before sticking his tongue out at her.

"That's only because Steinbrenner spoils them like little girls." she laughed as he tackled her to the bed.

"No one talks about my Yankees like that." he called out pinning her to the bed.

"I just did. What are you gonna do? Cry?" she laughed before leaning up to kiss him.

"You are so lucky you're so beautiful. Otherwise, there would be hell to pay." he laughed kissing her again.

"Yeah right, Mr. Fluff Ball." she laughed looking up into his green eyes.

"Only for you Baby. Only for you." he smiled leaning down to kiss her again.


	7. Chapter 7

"I can't believe you're taking Fee out." Mark said sitting on Roger's bed as he got ready.

"It's been months Mark. It's about time." he smiled looking over at him.

"I'm glad. She needs to feel like a normal person in a normal relationship." he said getting up from the bed.

"I know. I just don't want anything to happen to her. If I lost her..." he started when Mark interrupted him.

"You're not gonna lose her Roger. She's safe and we're gonna make sure she stays that way." he said looking over at him.

"I know. I just don't want Jake and his goons to hurt her. I promised her I would take care of her." he said looking over at him.

"I know Roger and you're doing great. But she can't stay locked up in the loft all the time." he said looking over at him.

"I know. That's why I'm taking her out." he smiled looking over at him.

"Well, have fun Roger." he smiled looking over at him.

"Thanks. I'm gonna go see if Fee's ready yet." he smiled before leaving the room.

"How do I look?" she asked coming out of her room.

"You look great Fee. But then again, you always do." he smiled looking over at her. She was wearing tight blue jeans and a pink off the shoulder sweater.

"Thank you Baby. You don't look too bad yourself. So what movie are we gonna see?" she smiled looking over at him.

"Does it matter? It's not like we're gonna see much of it anyway." he smiled wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close.

"Roger, we don't have to go to a movie theatre to make out. We can do that here." she laughed looking up at him.

"But it's more fun in a movie theatre." he smiled leaning down to kiss her.

"You are hopeless." she laughed looking up at him.

"Hopelessly in love with you." he smiled kissing her again.

"Come on. Baby. Let's go." she laughed grabbing his hand and dragging him out of the loft.

* * *

"So, what do you want to do now?" Roger asked looking down at Fiona as they exited the theatre.

"I was thinking, I could use a cup of coffee at the Life Cafe and we could sit at a table and talk." she smiled looking up at him.

"Baby, we've been talking for months. I think we know everything there is to know about each other by now." he laughed looking down at her.

"I know. But I wanna be out in public with my boyfriend. Is that OK?" she asked gripping his hand.

"Yeah Baby, it's OK with me." he laughed looking down at her.

"I love you Roger. You know that, right?" she asked as he stopped a block short of the Life Cafe.

"Of course I do Fee. What's the matter?" he asked looking down at her.

"Nothing. I'm just... I'm really glad we're together. That's all I'm saying." she smiled looking up at him.

"There's a surprise party waiting for me at the Life, isn't there?" he asked looking down at her suspicious.

"Maybe." she laughed looking into his green eyes as he looked down. "Oh come on Roger. We can't let your birthday go by without recognition." she smiled wrapping her arms around his neck.

"You know I hate birthdays. Especially mine." he said looking down at her.

"But you don't know how many more you're gonna have left Baby. What's wrong with me wanting to celebrate your life?" she asked looking up at him.

"Nothing Baby. You just know I hate making a big deal over things." he said looking down at her.

"But you deserve it Roger. You do so much for a lot of people. Why shouldn't we do something for you in return?" she smiled looking up at him.

"You did already Baby and I love my necklace." he smiled reaching around his neck holding his guitar charm in his hand.

"I wanted to do more for you. But I didn't have time." she smiled looking up at him.

"I don't want you wasting your money on me." he said looking down at her.

"What else am I gonna spend my money on?" she asked looking up at him.

"Anything you want." he smiled looking down at her.

"I want to go back to school Roger. I miss it so much." she said looking up at him.

"And what about Jake? What if he finds you there?" he asked looking over at her.

"Roger please. I can't keep putting my life on hold. I need to get back to living. You offered a few months ago to go back with me for protection. Does that offer still stand?" she asked looking up at him.

"Of course it does Fee. I'll do whatever I have to to protect you." he smiled looking down at her.

"So, I'm gonna enroll tomorrow, OK?" she asked looking up at him.

"I'll go with you." he smiled leaning down to kiss her.

"Thank you Baby. I love you." she smiled looking up at him.

"I love you too. Now let's go to the cafe. My birthday party is waiting for me." he smiled looking down at her.

"You are gonna have fun, you know?" she smiled looking up at him.

"I'm gonna be with you. I'm gonna have a great time." he smiled leaning down to kiss her before they continued to the loft.

* * *

"Philosophy? Divine Providence and Human Suffering? Oh yeah Fee, this is gonna be fun." Roger mocked looking down at her schedule.

"I happen to like Philosophy. And anyway, look at who the professor is. On those days you get to sleep in. Collins will be with me." she smiled as they walked away from the campus.

"And how are you getting here? Planning on walking by yourself at 8:30 in the morning?" he asked looking down at her.

"Maybe I can walk with Collins."' she smiled looking up at him.

"We'll see Baby. I am so proud of you for wanting to come back to school." he smiled looking down at her.

"Why don't you take a couple of classes. You're gonna be on campus anyway." she suggested looking up at him.

"I never saw myself as the college boy type." he said looking down at her.

"Why not? You could take music tech or something. It'll be good for your writing." she smiled looking up at him.

"Yeah, and how am I gonna pay for it? My good looks?" he asked looking down at her.

"You could get away with it, but you won't have to. I can do it. I believe in your music Roger. I want to do it. I have all that money I took out of my account. I have over a hundred grand left." she smiled looking up at him.

"That much? Where did you get all that money?" he asked looking down at her.

"I told you, I worked for a while and then Jake set up an account for me to play with. I figured I'd need the money if I needed to set myself up out of the city. I barely spent any of it." she said looking up at him as he stopped her in the middle of the campus.

"I can't ask you to do that Fee. That's your money." he said looking down at her.

"You're not asking. I told you. I believe in your music. I want you to do it." she smiled looking up at him.

"I'll think about it, OK Fee." he said looking down at her.

"OK thank you Baby." she smiled leaning up to kiss him before taking his hand as they left the college.


	8. Chapter 8

"You're gonna go to college?" Maureen asked as they sat in the Life Cafe drinking beer.

"Yeah, why is that so hard for you to believe?" he asked looking over at her with his arm around Fiona's shoulders.

"I just never pegged you as a college boy. That's all I'm saying." she said lifting her glass.

"I'm not gonna be a college boy. I'm just going for one course." he said taking a sip of his beer.

"I just think it's gonna be weird, that's all. I've known you a long time and the last thing I expected from you was to enroll in college." she said looking up at him.

"Why? Because I'm a failed rock star with no real future." he asked getting up and walking over to the juke box.

"That's not what I meant Fee. I just..." she started looking over at Fiona.

"I know Maureen. I'll go talk to him." Fiona said before getting up and going to him. "Down boy. I don't think that's what Maureen meant." she said wrapping her arms around his waist.

"I know. I just never thought about going to college and she's acting like I'm an idiot who can't do anything." he said looking over at her.

"No one thinks you're an idiot Roger. Actually, aside from Collins, you're the smartest guy I know. It takes a lot to write songs like you do. Plus you have street smarts that no one else has. You can pick out a thug a mile away." she smiled looking up at him.

"Yeah well, I grew up in the Bronx. It doesn't take a genius to know a hood when you see one." he said looking down at her.

"Roger, my point is, you are a really smart man. Don't let Maureen's ribbing get to you. No one thinks you're stupid. Actually, you know what you want to do with your life. You've always known. I envy you actually." she said looking up at him.

"Why? Fee, you're taking philosophy. That takes a lot of intelligence." he smiled looking down at her.

"Yeah, but look at me. I got involved with a mobster and I almost married him. I was with him for over a year, not realizing he was a mobster. I've seen the Godfather and Goodfellas. I should have known, but I didn't. I thought since he bought me beautiful things and brought me to nice restaurants, that he was a great guy. All I needed was a poor musician to love me the way I should have been loved." she smiled leaning up to kiss him.

"I do love you Fee. I may not be able to give you everything Jake did, but I do love you." he smiled looking down at her.

"I know Roger. And I love you. Just the way you are." she smiled as he wrapped his arms around her tight.

"Come on. I owe Maureen an apology for the way I acted." he said looking down at her.

"OK Baby." she smiled as they walked over to the table.

* * *

"OK Baby, I'm gonna be right out here when you're done, OK?" Roger smiled looking down at Fiona as they stood outside her philosophy class.

"You're not gonna come in and watch Collins at work?" she asked smiling up at him.

"I don't think Collins would appreciate me snoring through his class again today. He kind of bitches about it a lot." he laughed caressing her face.

"Point taken. I'll see you after class." she laughed leaning up to kiss him.

"I love you Fee." he smiled looking down at her.

"I love you too Roger, but you don't have to wait out here through the whole class. You can go get coffee at the student union or something. I'll find you there." she smiled looking up at him.

"Nah, I'm fine out here. I have an assignment to finish for music tech anyway." he smiled reaching down to caress her face.

"OK Baby. I'll see you after class." she smiled going into the classroom.

"Why is your boyfriend always up your ass?" a young girl asked looking over at Fiona as she put her book bag down next to her desk.

"It's a safety issue. He's not possessive or anything, really." she smiled looking up at her.

"He's like, your body guard?" she asked looking down at her.

"Yeah. Something like that." she laughed looking up at her.

"Are you famous or something?" she asked looking down at her.

"No, I'm not. It's complicated. I'd rather not talk about it. If you don't mind." she said looking up at her.

"OK. Sorry." she said sitting down as Collins entered the classroom and began teaching. As Roger sat on the bench outside the classroom he looked around and didn't notice anyone around, so he dug into his book bag for his music book. He had to write a song using a childhood memory and he was having a lot of difficulty with it. He sat there for 10 minutes before he decided to get a cup of coffee from the student union like Fiona suggested. He hoped a cup of coffee would help him figure out what to write about. Just as he exited the building someone hit him on the back of the head, knocking him unconscious.

* * *

"Where's your boyfriend?" the girl from class asked Fiona as they left the class room.

"I don't know. It's not like Roger not to be sitting right here." she said as she went towards the exit door. Just as she was about to open it, she saw his black knap sack laying on the ground outside the door and his book was on the ground. She recognized it because she picked it out for him. She turned around and rushed back to the class room. As she closed the door behind her, Collins looked up seeing the fear on her face.

"What's the matter Babygirl? Where's Roger?" he asked looking up at her.

"I don't know. His back pack is laying on the ground outside. What if they found him and took him to try to get to me?" she asked looking up at him starting to cry.

"Calm down Babygirl. Did you see him outside?" he asked rushing over to her.

"No. I didn't even go outside. I saw Roger's book bag on the ground and came here." she said looking over at him.

"OK, you did good Babygirl. Um, I'm gonna go outside and get his book bag. You stay here. I'm gonna close the door behind me. Don't open it for anyone, do you hear me? I have a key. You'll be safe here." he said leaning down to kiss her head.

"What if something happened to him Collins? I never wanted to put him in danger and now I have. What if they kill him? Oh my God Collins." she cried looking up at him.

"It'll be OK Babygirl. We'll find him. I swear. He's gonna be OK." he said looking down at her.

"Just go Collins. We have to find him." she said looking up at him.

"Stay here. I'm gonna go check the student union. Maybe he went for a cup of coffee." he said looking down at her.

"You know that's not true Collins. Jake found him. One of his guys saw him with me that day. We out ran the guy, but he saw Roger. I knew I should have left that day. But I let him talk me out of it because of my feelings for him. Dammit, now they have him and they're gonna torture him until he tells them where I am. Which you know he's never gonna do because he's a stubborn ass." she cried as she walked around the classroom ranting.

"Babygirl calm down. I'm gonna go see if I can find him. Stay here." he said looking down at her.

"Thank you Collins. Find him. Please find him for me." she said looking up at him.

"I will Babygirl. Don't worry about it. I'll find him." he said hugging her tight before rushing out of the classroom locking the door. She paced around the classroom running her fingers through her hair. It was growing out from when she cut it 6 months ago to disguise herself. She was so worried about Roger. What if something happened to him? How was she gonna be able to live with herself knowing she put his life in danger like that. She walked over to the phone on Collins' desk and called Mark.

"Mark, it's me. They got him. They found me, but they took Roger." she cried sitting on Collin' desk.

"What do you mean they got him? Who got him? What are you talking about?" he asked confused by what she was telling him.

"Jake or one of his guys. They took Roger. I was in class and he was waiting outside the classroom for me and when I came out he was gone. They're gonna kill him. We have to find him. I have to go to Jake and make him let him go." she cried collapsing onto the floor.

"No you're not Fee. Where's Collins?" he asked standing up from his chair.

"He went out looking for him and locked me in the classroom, but he's not gonna find him. Jake won't let him. He's got him somewhere and he's gonna torture him until he tells him where I am. And he never will. He'd rather have Jake kill him than tell him where I am. What the hell are we gonna do Mark?" she cried sitting on the floor.

"Babygirl, open the door. It's me. Hurry up." Collins yelled pounding on the door.

"Oh my God. He's back. I gotta go." she yelled hanging up the phone before getting up to run to the door to open it.

"Babygirl, he was in an alley across campus." he told her out of breath as he helped a bloodied Roger into the classroom.

"Oh my God Roger. What happened?" she asked reaching for him as Collins pushed her away.

"Fee no." Roger managed moving away from her. "The blood." he moaned holding his stomach. He looked really bad. He had cuts on his face and lip and there was blood all over his clothes.

"What happened Baby?" she asked wiping her eyes as they entered the classroom.

"Jake's guys. They grabbed me while I was going to get coffee about 10 minutes after your class started and they took me to an alley. They kept hitting me, asking me where you were." he said as Collins put him in a chair.

"Oh my God. What did you tell them?" she asked looking over at him, keeping her distance.

"I told them to go to hell. There was no way I was telling them where you were. No way." he groaned looking over at her.

"They could have killed you Roger. Do you realize that?" she asked looking over at him as she paced around the classroom.

"I don't care Fee. There's no way I'm letting them get to you." he groaned leaning over gripping his ribs.

"We have to get you to a hospital Roger. You could have broken ribs and you look like you need stitches. Among other things." Collins said looking down at him.

"What about Fee? Someone has to get her home." he groaned looking up at him.

"No way. I'm going with you and you're not winning this argument Roger. Not this time." she yelled looking over at him.

"But Fee..." he started looking over at her.

"Enough Roger. I'm taking care of you now. We're calling the police and telling them everything. And you are pressing assault charges." she yelled looking down at him as Collins helped him up.

"OK Fee. You win. I can't argue with you right now." he said getting up wincing in pain.

"No you're not. Now, let's go." she said looking down at him surprised that he agreed so easily.


	9. Chapter 9

"Oh my God Roger. What happened to you?" Mark asked as they entered the loft. Roger was limping and doubled over in pain as Collins helped him.

"Jake's guys. They hit me on the back of the head with something and when I came to, I was in an alley across campus. They were hitting me asking me where Fee was, but I wouldn't tell them. I told them to go to hell. I would never tell them where she was." he groaned sitting in the couch gently.

"Now can we get out of here?" she yelled looking down at him. She was crying.

"Fee, calm down. Everything is gonna be OK." he said sitting back still gripping his stomach.

"Roger, you have 2 broken ribs, 25 stitches in your face and head. How is everything gonna be OK?" she asked pacing around the loft.

"The cops are gonna get these guys." he said looking up at her.

"How do you know? Roger, look what they did to you. I can't believe I let this happen. I can't believe I let you convince me to stay. They could have killed you." she yelled at him as Mark got up to go to her.

"It's OK Fee. Calm down." he said putting his arm around her, knowing how much Roger wanted to do it, but couldn't.

"I wish everyone would stop telling me to calm down. I came here to be safe and now look. 6 months later they find Roger at the school and work him over trying to find me. This is serious." she yelled running to her room and slamming the door.

"I have to go talk to her." Roger said struggling to get up when Collins pushed him back down by his shoulder.

"No, you stay here and rest. I'll go. I don't think it's such a good idea for her to talk to you anyway. Not looking like that." he said getting up to go to Fiona's room.

"I can't let her think this is her fault. I can't." he said looking up at Mark.

"How could she not think it's her fault? You got grabbed and beat up outside one of her classes. They've obviously been tailing you guys for a while. Maybe you should take her to your parents house for a few weeks. At least until the cops can get their case together and pick the guys responsible for this up." he said looking over at him.

"Yeah, maybe. I can't let them get to her Mark. I can't. I swore to her that I wouldn't let anything happen to her and I gotta do anything I have to do to make sure I keep that promise." he said looking over at him.

"Babygirl, are you OK?" Collins asked knocking on Fiona's bedroom door.

"Go away Collins. I don't want to talk to anyone right now." she yelled as he opened the door. She was standing at the foot of her bed throwing clothes into her bags.

"Fiona, what are you doing?" he asked rushing into her room.

"I have to get out of here. They could have killed Roger and they will next time if he still doesn't tell them where I am. I can't let them do that. I love him too much to lose him this way. If I'm gone, they'll leave him alone." she cried not even folding her clothes.

"You know that's not gonna happen. He's not gonna quit looking for you. Maybe you and Roger should get out of town for a while. At least until the cops find them and build a case against them." he suggested looking over at her.

"I can't disrupt Roger's life anymore than I already have. He loves me and he got beaten to a bloody pulp because of it. I can't do this to him anymore. He's got HIV, he shouldn't have to spend the rest of his life looking over his shoulder." she cried looking over at him.

"I would do anything for you Fee. Please, don't leave me, OK?" Roger asked leaning in the doorway.

"I don't want to leave you Roger. You know I don't. But what am I supposed to do? They jumped you and beat you so badly. I can't have you putting your life on the line for me. And don't try to tell me that your life is not in danger because today is proof it is." she yelled looking over at him.

"I was thinking. Maybe we can go stay with my parents for a little while. At least until the dust settles." he suggested limping into he room.

"Roger, your parents only live in Yonkers. How are we gonna hide out in Yonkers?" she asked looking over at him.

"It's not the city Fee. Jake won't look for you outside the city. There's too much ground to cover." he said looking over at her.

"Yeah, we thought I'd be safe here too, but they were in Thompkin Square Park, weren't they?" she yelled looking over at him.

"So where do you wanna go? We'll go anywhere you'll feel safe." he asked losing his footing as Collins rushed to get him.

"I don't know Roger." she cried running to his side.

"I'll do anything for you Fee. Just don't leave me, OK? Please. I love you." he groaned as Collins sat him on Fiona's bed.

"I don't want to leave you Roger. I love you too. I just can't do this to you anymore. You can't keep protecting me at the expense of your own life. Next time, they'll kill you." she cried sitting next to him.

"So let's go somewhere. Somewhere far away from the city." he said looking down at her.

"OK. Let's get out of the city. I'll do anything so they don't hurt you like this again." she cried wrapping her arms around him gently.

"We're gonna be OK Baby. They're gonna get Jake and his guys and everything is gonna be OK." he whispered wrapping his arms around her even though it hurt his ribs.

"Maybe we can visit your parents before we go away. I'd like to meet the people responsible for raising the love of my life." she smiled looking up at him.

"OK Baby. Anything you want. Why don't you fix your clothes and I'll have Mark and Collins help me pack. We can leave as soon as we're done." he suggested as Collins looked over at him.

"Roger, are you sure it's such a good idea? You leaving in your condition? And without enough meds." he asked looking down at him.

"I have a few refills left on my meds and they can be filled anywhere." he said looking up at him. "It'll be OK Collins. We'll take care of each other." he smiled looking down at Fiona.

"Don't worry Collins. We'll be fine." Fiona said looking up at him.

"OK Babygirl. I'm gonna go score you guys a car." he said leaving the room. "Do you have a license Babygirl?" he asked looking over at her.

"Yeah sweetie. I do. Roger can't very well drive in his condition." she said reaching up to caress Roger's head.

"I love you so much Fee. I'll do anything for you. You know that, right?" he asked looking into her blue eyes. They were bloodshot from crying.

"Of course I do Roger. I just hate that they did this to you because of me." she said looking up at him.

"I'm fine Baby. You have to believe that." he said looking down at her.

"You will be fine now. I'm gonna take care of you. I promise." she said looking down at him.

"We're gonna take care of each other Baby." he said leaning down to kiss her gently, careful not to hurt his lip, which was swollen.

* * *

"Make sure you call every few days, OK Babygirl. I wanna make sure you guys are OK. We'll tell you when the coast is clear." Collins said standing outside the car as they were parked down the block from the loft. 

"OK Collins. We will. Thank you so much for everything. We'll be back. I promise. I just need to make sure it's safe for me and Roger." she said looking up at him from the drivers side.

"Roger, just be careful, OK? Don't go out unless you have to. You never know if he's got people scouting the country looking for you guys." Mark said looking down at Roger, who was sitting in the passenger seat.

"Don't worry Mark. We'll be careful. Just tell the band, I'm sorry. Don't give them any details, just tell them me and Fee needed to get out of town for a while. Charlie can front the band until I get back." he said looking up at him.

"OK Roger. No problem." he said looking down at him as Fiona started the car. Collins had rented it in his name. It couldn't be traced to Fiona or Roger.

"We'll be fine guys. We'll call you when we get to Roger's parents house." Fiona said looking up at them.

"Be careful Babygirl, OK?" Collins said taking her hand.

"We will sweetie. Thank you again for the car and... you know. Everything else." she smiled looking over at Roger before looking up at him again.

"No problem Fee. Just take care of our boy, OK?" he smiled leaning down to kiss her cheek.

"I will." she smiled putting the car into gear and pulling away.

"Do you think they'll be OK?" Mark asked looking over at Collins as he walked to the sidewalk.

"Yeah, I do. They have each other. What more could they need?"' he asked looking over at him as they drove out of sight.


	10. Chapter 10

"Roger, what are you doing here? What happened to you?" Mr. Davis asked opening the door for Roger and Fiona.

"Dad, this is my girlfriend Fiona. Can we come in? Please?" he asked looking around outside.

"Sure. Sure Roger. It's nice to meet you Fiona. So, are you gonna tell me what happened to you, or not?" the older man asked opening the door wider.

"Dad, it's a long story." he told him limping into the house.

"I have time." he said looking over at his son as Fiona helped him to the couch in the living room.

"Where's mom?" he asked looking up at him as Fiona sat next to him.

"She's at bingo. She should be home soon." he said looking over at him sitting in his chair turning the television off. "So, what happened? Are you in trouble?" he asked looking over at him.

"Not exactly. Um... about 6 months ago, Collins brought Fee to the loft. She was a student of his and her fiance was after her. She saw him do something she shouldn't have seen, so he thought she would be safe at the loft with me and Mark. About a month later, we took a walk in the park and one of her ex fiance's goons saw us together. We got away from him, but we didn't leave the loft for a while. Keeping her there was the only thing I could do to make sure she was safe. But then, a few months later, we started leaving the loft and things were fine. We thought it was safe enough for her to enroll in school again. I even enrolled for a class. And things were great for a while. But then today I was jumped by a couple of guys and they beat me up trying to find out where Fee was, but I wouldn't tell them. I told them to go to hell. They must have heard a noise because they ran and left me in the alley on campus." he said looking over at him.

"Oh my God Roger. I'm so sorry. What are you gonna do?" he asked looking over at him.

"We're getting out of New York for a little while. At least until the coast is clear. We can't go back as long as Fee's life is still in danger." he said as Fiona put her arm around him.

"I'm so sorry Mr. Davis. I never wanted any of this to happen to him. I never wanted Roger to get hurt." she said looking up at Mr. Davis.

"It's not your fault little girl. That you need to let go of right now. I can see how you and my son feel about each other. There was nothing you could do." he said looking over at her. She could see where Roger got his kind eyes.

"I tried telling her dad, but she insists on blaming herself." Roger smiled looking down at Fiona.

"I tried to leave when they first saw us in the park, but Roger wouldn't let me. That's when he told me he had feelings for me. I couldn't leave him after that." she said looking down at her lap.

"I can tell he loves you very much Fiona. Roger would never let anything happen to you. And neither will we. You two can stay as long as you need to." he smiled looking over at him.

"We can only stay a couple of days at most. If we stay in one place too long, they'll find us. The last thing I want is to put you or Mrs. Davis in danger." she said looking over at him.

"We can take care of ourselves little girl. Do you two want anything to drink? I can get you a couple of beers." he offered looking over at them.

"No thanks dad. I really should stay alert." Roger said looking over at him.

"You're safe for tonight Roger. Have a beer. It sounds like you two have been through a horrible ordeal. You need to relax now." he smiled patting his sons knee before getting up to go to the kitchen.

"Thanks dad. I told you Baby. It's cool." he whispered kissing Fiona's head. "So what have you and mom been up to?" he asked as Mr. Davis returned with a few bottles of beer. He opened the bottles as he handed them out.

"Nothing much. I'm retiring in September. Your mother and I were thinking of doing some traveling." he smiled sitting in his chair.

"That's great dad. Where were you thinking of traveling to?" he asked looking over at him.

"Ireland. You know your mother has wanted to go there her whole life." he smiled taking a swig of his beer as the door opened.

"Jimmy, who's car is parked in front of the house?" a female voice asked entering the house.

"Hi mom." Roger smiled as Fiona helped him get up from the couch.

"Oh my God Roger, what happened to you? Who did this to you?" Mrs. Davis asked rushing over to her son before dropping her bag next to the couch.

"I'm fine mom. It looks worse than it is. Um... mom, this is my girlfriend Fiona. Fee, this is my mom." he smiled putting his arm around Fiona's waist.

"It's nice to meet you Fiona. Is someone gonna tell me what happened to my son, or do I have to guess?" she asked looking down at Mr. Davis.

"I'll tell you later Honey. Why don't you sit down? I was just telling Roger that we're going to Ireland." he smiled looking up at her. She looked down at him uncomfortably.

"Jimmy, can I speak to you in the kitchen please?" she asked leaving the room.

"I'll be right back." he smiled looking over at Roger and Fiona.

"Your mom's not gonna like me when she finds out how you got hurt." Fiona said as they sat on the couch.

"It'll be fine Fee. It's not your fault." he said looking down at her.

"I don't know Roger. She didn't look too happy when we wouldn't tell her what happened to you." she said looking up at him.

"Fee, it's OK. As soon as my dad tells her what happened, everything is gonna be OK." he smiled leaning over to kiss her as his parents re entered the room.

"Fiona sweetie, I'm so sorry for before. I saw Roger beat up like that and I got worried. I thought he was in trouble or something. You have to understand. He's my little boy." Mrs. Davis said looking down at Fiona.

"I understand Mrs. Davis. I never wanted anything to happen to him. You have no idea how horrible I feel about this." Fiona told her standing up from the couch.

"Sweetie, this is not your fault, OK? Roger would never let anything bad happen to you. I know he would rather it was him getting beat up, rather than you." she smiled taking the younger woman into her arms.

"Yeah well, I wish he hadn't gotten beat up for me." she told her starting to cry.

"Sweetie, it's OK. I know this has been a rough couple of months. It's OK now. We'll make sure nothing happens to you now." she said hugging the young woman.

"Fee, it's OK." Roger said standing up from the couch.

"No, it's not OK Roger. Nothing is OK about this. I love you and you got hurt. I'm sorry. Excuse me." she said looking up at him before leaving the room.

"Fee, wait." Roger called out gripping his ribs.

"Let her go son. This is a lot for a young woman to handle. She just needs time." Mr. Davis said looking over at him.

"Dad, you don't understand. When those guys took me, she told Mark that she was gonna go to this guy and tell him to let me go. She was willing to sacrifice her own life to save mine. I love her dad, I can't let her do that." he said looking over at him with tears in his eyes.

"Let me go talk to her, OK Roger? She'll be OK." Mrs. Davis smiled looking over at her son.

"Mom, just tell her I love her and there's nothing I won't do for her, OK?" he said looking down at her.

"I have a feeling she already knows, but I'll tell her." she smiled looking over at him before rushing up the stairs. When she got to the top of the stairs she noticed Fiona sitting on the floor in the hallway leaning against the wall. "Sweetie, are you OK?" she asked looking over at her.

"I didn't know which room was Roger's so, I just thought I'd sit out here." she cried looking over at her before wiping her eyes.

"We moved here after Roger left for the city. Technically, he doesn't have a room, but I've made that one his room just in case. Do you want to see it?" she asked looking down at her.

"Sure." she said before getting up.

"Now, he's never seen this room, but it looks just like his old room back in the Bronx, so I always hoped it would feel like home to him." she smiled putting the lights on in the bedroom. There was a full sized bed with heavy metal posters on the wall and a small stereo on the dresser. There were pictures of Roger hanging on the walls. Many pictures of him from early childhood leading up to high school. Even some of him singing in a band.

"This is a great room Mrs. Davis. The only pictures of Roger I've seen are the ones Mark and Collins have." she smiled looking around.

"Well, if you want to see baby pictures, you've come to the right place." she smiled putting her arm around Fiona's shoulder. "You know, he loves you very much. I've never seen my son look at any girl the way he looks at you." she said looking over at her.

"I love him too Mrs. Davis. The last thing I ever wanted was for him to get hurt because of me." she said looking over at her before going to the bed to sit down.

"It's not because of you sweetie. Roger takes care of the people he loves. You're a very lucky girl. If there's one person you want on your side, it's Roger." she smiled walking over to sit next to her on the bed.

"I am extremely lucky to have him Mrs. Davis, but why does loving me mean he has to get beat up and then have to look over his shoulder like a criminal? He never did anything wrong to anyone." she said looking over at her.

"Listen to me Fiona, I know my son is HIV positive, but I love him anyway. He didn't always make the right decisions concerning his life, but I have a feeling you're the best thing that's ever happened to him. He does not regret being with you. Even though he got beat up, he doesn't blame you. Why don't you two stay here for a couple of days until you figure out where you're going to go next? It'll give you and Roger time to re group and for him to heal." she suggested looking over at her.

"OK Mrs. Davis. I see where Roger gets his talent for winning arguments." she laughed looking over at her.

"You have no idea sweetie. Jimmy doesn't even try anymore. It's sad really." she laughed hugging her.

"Thank you Mrs. Davis." she smiled hugging her back.

"Please, call me Dana." she smiled looking over at her.

"OK Thank you Dana." she smiled looking over at her.

"Come on sweetie. You look like you could use that beer that's sitting down stairs for you." she smiled as they got up from the bed and left the room.

"I really could. Thank you." she smiled turning off the light and following Mrs. Davis down the stairs.

"Are you OK Baby?" Roger asked standing up carefully.

"Yeah, I'm OK Roger. I'm sorry about before Mr. Davis. This has just been really rough on all of us." she said looking down at Mr. Davis who was sitting in his chair.

"I understand, but I will not have you calling me anything but Jimmy. I insist." he smiled looking over at her.

"OK Jimmy. Thank you. Um, Roger did you call Collins and Mark to let them know we were all right?" she asked looking over at Roger.

"Yeah, I just got off the phone with them. They said all has been quiet so far." he said looking over at her.

"I wish they would arrest him already. At least I'll feel a little better about leaving Mark and Collins there alone." she said going over to him.

"It'll happen Baby, don't worry about it." he said looking over at her.

"Um... I'm really tired. Would you mind if I just went up to bed?" she asked looking up at him.

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna go up to bed myself. I'll go get the bags." he smiled leaning down to kiss her head.

"No Roger, you and Fiona go up to your room. Your dad and I will get your bags. I think you two should stay in as much as possible. Just in case." Mrs. Davis said looking over at them.

"Thanks mom." Roger smiled looking over at her before he and Fiona headed up the stairs towards his room. "Um... which one's mine?" he asked looking around.

"Over here." Fiona smiled leading him to his room.

"Are you sure you're OK Fee?" he asked as they entered the room.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Now I know where you get your kind heart from." she smiled looking over at him.

"What did you and my mom talk about?" he asked sitting on the bed.

"How much you love me and how you have no regrets about us. Even though you got beat up." she smiled sitting next to him looking around the bedroom at the pictures on the walls.

"I don't, you know. I could never regret us." he smiled reaching up carefully to caress her face.

"I know, me neither." she smiled leaning up to kiss him.

"Knock, knock. Is everyone decent?" Mrs. Davis asked knocking on the door.

"Yeah mom, come on in." Roger called out putting his arms around Fiona.

"You two make a beautiful couple." Mrs. Davis smiled looking over at them before she and Mr. Davis put the bags down in front of the dresser.

"Mom, you're not gonna be doing that the whole time we're here, are you?" Roger asked smiling up at his mother.

"I can't help it. You two do look beautiful together." she smiled looking down at them.

"Come on Dana. Let's let the kids get ready for bed. I'm sure it's been a long day." Mr. Davis said taking his wife's hand.

"OK. Good night you two. We'll see you in the morning." Mrs. Davis smiled looking down at them.

"Thanks mom." Roger smiled looking up at her.

"Good night Dana. Thank you for everything. Really." she smiled getting up to hug the older woman.

"Now you stop right there. I told you, we're gonna do everything we need to do to make sure you're safe." she smiled looking over at her.

"Thanks anyway." she smiled looking over at her before the older Davis' left the room.

"My mom really likes you." Roger smiled getting up from the bed carefully.

"I can tell. What did you do that they're trying to pawn you off on me?" she joked looking over at him laughing.

"You think you're funny, don't you?" he asked reaching out for her.

"Roger, be careful. Your ribs." she smiled looking over at him.

"Nothing is gonna stop me from hold my girl in my arms." he smiled kissing her head.

"I love you so much Roger." she smiled leaning up to kiss him.

"I love you so much too Fee. You have no idea." he smiled holding her in his arms.

"Yeah I do Baby. I know exactly how much you love me." she whispered looking up at him.


	11. Chapter 11

"Good morning Fiona. How did you sleep?" Mrs. Davis asked looking up as she made breakfast.

"Not that good. I was afraid I was gonna hurt Roger if I rolled over and hit him." she said looking over at her.

"I'm so sorry. If you want to go lay down in the guest room, you're more than welcome to." she smiled looking over at her.

"Nah, it's OK. I have a hard time sleeping without Roger next to me anyway. He makes me feel safe, you know?" she said looking over at her.

"OK sweetie. But the offer is open if you need it." she smiled pouring her some coffee.

"Thank you." she smiled taking the coffee.

"So, tell me how you and Roger started dating." she smiled looking over at her.

"I had been stuck in the loft for almost a month and I was nagging Roger to let me go outside. At first, to shut me up he took my hand and dragged me to the roof and told me that we were outside." she laughed looking over at her.

"Yeah, that's Roger." Mrs. Davis laughed looking over at her.

"Then I was nagging more so he took me to the park. One of my ex's guys saw us and we out ran him. I wanted to leave that day, but Roger asked me not to. When I kept packing, he told me he had feelings for me. I had feelings for him too. We started dating that day." she smiled looking over at her.

"That was the greatest day of my life." Roger smiled from the doorway holding his stomach.

"Good morning sleepy head. How did you sleep?" Mrs. Davis asked smiling up at him.

"Great. I had my girl next to me. What more could a guy need?" he smiled walking over to Fiona to kiss her head.

"Do you want breakfast sweetie?" Mrs. Davis asked looking over at him.

"Yeah. Thanks mom." he smiled sitting down next to her.

"Did you know, Roger can cook now?" Fiona smiled looking up at Mrs. Davis.

"You're kidding? More than ramen soup?" she laughed looking over at her.

"Ramen soup is not allowed in the loft anymore." Fiona laughed looking over at Roger.

"Yeah, my girl is teaching me how to cook." he smiled taking Fiona's hand.

"He cooks for me all by himself now." Fiona laughed looking up at Mrs. Davis.

"I'm really good at breaded chicken cutlet with roasted red peppers." Roger laughed cautiously.

"It's the first meal we ever cooked for each other." Fiona smiled looking over at her.

"That is so sweet. I'm glad the boys have you to take care of them. Otherwise, who knows." Mrs. Davis laughed looking over at her.

"Yeah, who knows what poor Mark and Collins are gonna do with us on the lamb." Roger laughed looking over at Fiona.

"I better not come home to ramen soups piled in the cabinet." she laughed looking up at him.

"Nah, I'm pretty sure they're scared to death of bringing ramen into the loft. They probably think you have a hidden camera set up somewhere to make sure they don't." Roger laughed at her.

"Yeah, I have kind of put the fear of God into them when it comes to that, huh?" she asked laughing at him.

"Yeah, you have." he smiled taking her hand and lifting it to his lips to kiss.

"So what are you kids planning on doing today?" Mrs. Davis asked looking over at them as she cooked breakfast.

"Well Roger is gonna rest and I'm gonna call Collins and see if the cops have picked Jake and his guys up yet." Fiona said looking up at her drinking her coffee.

"I'm fine Baby. How about we look at the map and figure out where we're gonna go next?" Roger said looking over at her.

"You need your rest Roger. You can't over work yourself." she said looking over at him.

"I'm not gonna over work myself Baby. We have to keep moving." he said looking over at her.

"She's right Roger. You need your rest." Mrs. Davis said looking over at him.

"Not you too mom. I'm fine." she said bringing the dishes over to them.

"Count me in too." Mr. Davis smiled looking over at them as he entered the kitchen.

"Dad, I'm fine. Really. I wish everyone would stop treating me like a child." he said picking up his fork.

"Well, stop acting like a child. Capeche." Fiona smiled reaching over to caress his face.

"Yes ma'am." he smiled leaning over to kiss her.

"That little girl has you so whipped." Mr. Davis laughed looking over at his son.

"Who? Mr. Fluff Ball?" Fiona laughed looking over at Roger who lowered his head.

"Mr. Fluff Ball? You can't be serious." Mr. Davis laughed looking over at him.

"Thanks for that Fee. Now I'll never hear the end of it." Roger laughed looking over at her.

"Jimmy stop. I think it's cute." Mrs. Davis laughed looking over at them.

"Yeah, they are cute." Mr. Davis smiled putting his arm around his wife's waist and kissed her head.

* * *

"What the hell is taking them so long? We practically gave them his blood type." Fiona asked frustrated as she spoke to Collins on the phone.

"I don't know Babygirl, but Mark is staying here with me, so you don't have to worry about him being in the loft alone. We were about to head over there now to make sure Jake and his guys haven't figured out that's where you guys live." he said sitting on his bed.

"Good. I wouldn't want them to beat poor Mark up so he'll tell them where we are. Just make sure he's OK, all right? I don't want anything to happen to him." she said sitting on Roger's bed.

"I will Babygirl. Don't worry about Mark. So how are you getting along with Roger's parents?" he asked smiling.

"Great. They're so nice and they accept me for who I am. I really love them." she smiled quietly looking around at all the pictures of Roger when he was a boy.

"Good, because judging by the way their boy loves you, you'll be a part of their family one of these days." he said smiling.

"Collins, I don't think I'm ready for that yet. I just want this whole nighmare behind me before we start talking like that, OK?" she said looking down at her feet.

"I understand Babygirl. How's Roger doing?" he asked looking around.

"He's OK. Stubborn as ever. He refuses to believe that he needs his rest." she laughed looking up.

"Well that's Roger. Things never change. Always out to protect his lady." he laughed.

"Yeah, I know. Listen, I gotta go. Roger's downstairs with his mother looking over the map to see where we're gonna go next. I'll call you tomorrow, OK?" she said playing with her nails.

"OK Babygirl. Just be careful, OK? Take care of yourself and your boy, OK?" he asked looking up.

"I will Collins, don't worry. I love you guys, you know that, right?" she asked looking around.

"We love you too Babygirl. Bye." he said hanging up the phone. She sat on Roger's bed thinking. How could she have put so many people in her life in danger? She fell in love with Roger and he got beat up and now Collins and Mark are there to pick up her mess. She took a deep breath and let out a sigh.

"Is everything OK Fee?" Roger asked standing in the doorway.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Collins said they still haven't picked Jake up yet. What the hell are they waiting for? For him to kill us?" she asked looking over at him.

"They'll get him Baby. He probably went underground after his guys got scared away. It'll be OK. Just think of this as an adventure." he smiled entering the bedroom.

"It's not funny Roger. He could find us at any time. I don't want to put your parents or anyone else in danger. We have to get moving." she said looking up at him.

"Where do you wanna go?" he asked sitting on the bed next to her.

"Well, I know Jake has connections in Jersey, Florida and all along the east coast." she said looking over at him.

"So we'll head west. How about Vegas?" he asked looking over at her.

"That's perfect. He hates Nevada. Too hot." she said looking over at him.

"It's settled. We're going to Vegas." he smiled wrapping his arms around her.

"Roger, this is not gonna be easy, you know? Driving to Vegas is gonna take like a week and we have to stay in a cheap hotel. I may have a hundrded grand left, but who knows how long we're gonna be on the run. We may need all the money we have. And then there's the payment on the rental car. I don't want Collins to have to pick up the cost of that." she said looking over at him.

"We'll be fine Fee. If we need more, my parents can wire it to us. My dad already offered 25 grand and he said he can get more come Monday." he said looking down at her.

"I can't ask them to do that Roger. This is my problem. Not theirs. Your parents have plans. I can't take their money." she said looking over at her.

"You're not asking. They offered and it's not just your problem. It's mine too. And anyway, you're a part of this family now too. Baby, they love you and they just met you." he smiled looking over at him.

"Yeah, look where loving me got you. In the emergency room with 2 broken ribs and 25 stitches." she said getting up from the bed.

"Fiona, stop. I don't regret any of it. I'd do it again if I had to. As long as you're safe." he yelled holding his ribs in pain.

"Roger, don't yell. You're gonna hurt yourself." she said rushing over to him.

"Well stop telling me that loving you hurt me. That's not what did it. Jake did. Him and his guys. Loving you is the best thing that's ever happened to me." he told her reaching up to caress her face.

"And loving you has brought me back to life, I just don't want anyone else sacrificing their lives for me." she said looking into his gorgeous green eyes.

"It's not a sacrifice Fee. There are people who love you and want to take care of you. Why are you always so uncomfortable with it?" he asked looking over at her.

"Because I never really had anyone on my side. I've been bounced from foster home to foster home since my parents died. I never had anyone but my social worker. Then she died a couple of years ago and I had nobody until Jake. Now I have you, Mark, Collins, Maureen, Joanne and now your parents. I'm not used to any of this." she said looking up at him with tears in her eyes.

"I get it Fee, but you're not alone anymore. You have me. And I come with a lot of people who would do anything for anyone. You're not alone anymore Fee. I'm here." he whispered holding her close to him.

"Is everything OK?" Mrs. Davis asked knocking on the door.

"Yeah Dana. Everything is fine." Fiona answered wiping her eyes before looking up at her.

"I heard Roger and..." she started before Roger cut her off.

"I told Fee about you and dad offering the money to us and she's being stubborn." Roger said caressing her hair.

"Listen Dana, I don't want you and Jimmy to give up your dreams of going to Ireland for me. I have enough money for me and Roger to travel wherever we need to go until the police arrest Jake. Thank you for offering, but I can't take your money. But I will take your love and friendship." she smiled looking up at her.

"You have that sweetie. But if you need anything. Money or just someone from home to talk to, we're here for you." she smiled looking over at her.

"I will defintely do that. Thank you." she smiled looking over at her.

"Lunch is almost ready. When you two are done, come down." she smiled looking down at her.

"OK. Thank you Dana." she smiled looking over at her before the older woman left the room.

"Baby, you deserve so much. I just want to give it to you." he said looking over at her.

"You are giving me everything I could ever want in my life. More even." she smiled looking over at him.


	12. Chapter 12

"Here, take this." Mr. Davis said handing Fiona a cell phone as they stood outside the car. They stayed at Roger's parents house for a week until Roger's ribs felt better.

"I can't take this Jimmy. This is your cell phone." she said looking up at him

"No, it's yours. It's an untraceable cell phone. I put 100 dollars on it, so you kids can call from the road to let me and Dana and all of your friends know you're OK. Just let me know when you need more money put on it. I'll take care of it." he said looking down at her,

"Thank you so much Jimmy. For everything you and Dana have done for us." she smiled looking up at him.

"We're not done yet little girl. Anything you need. Let us know, OK? I mean anything." he said looking down at her.

"We will. Thank you so much." she said reaching up to hug him.

"Any time Fiona. You are part of this family now too." he smiled kissing her head.

"Roger, you take care of her, OK? This is really rough on her." Mrs. Davis said looking up at her son.

"Of course I will mom. I want to marry her." he said looking down at her.

"Don't spring that on her until Jake is in custody and you kids are safe again, OK? She doesn't need that at this point in her life." she said looking up at him. His wounds had begun to heal and he was getting around much better.

"I won't mom. Don't worry. I know you and Fee are gonna want to plan everything together." he smiled looking down at her.

"It's not that Roger. It's just that, she doesn't need any more stress or complication in her life right now." she said looking up at him.

"I understand mom. I won't. We'll call you from the road. Your father got that phone you wanted. He's gonna give it to Fiona since you're gonna be driving. Just make sure you tell Collins and Mark to memorize the number and don't leave it around anywhere. Just in case." she said looking up at him.

"Mom, you watch too many mob movies." he laughed looking down at her.

"That may be, but just to be on the safe side, OK?" she said looking up at him.

"OK mom. We'll be careful. I love you." he smiled looking down at her.

"I love you too sweetie. Take care of each other, OK?" she said looking up at him.

"We will mom. I promise." he smiled leaning down to kiss his mother's cheek before getting into the car.

"We'll call you when we're on the road, OK?" Fiona said looking up at Mrs. Davis.

"OK sweetie. I love you." she smiled leaning into the car window to hug her.

"I love you too Dana. Thank you again for everything you've done this week." she smiled looking up at her.

"Don't even think about it sweetie. Just take care of yourselves." she smiled looking down at her.

"We will. Bye." she smiled buckling her seat belt before Roger began to pull away.

"Are you OK Baby?" he asked looking over at her.

"Yeah, I'm OK Baby. I'm just gonna miss them. It was nice being a part of a real family for once." she told him holding back tears.

"You are, you know? Part of our family." he smiled taking her hand. He wanted so badly to propose to her right then and there, but he knew his mother was right. Now was not the time to spring that on her. When he proposed to her, he wanted it to be special. Not driving in a car on their way out of town to get away from her mobster ex fiance. Before he knew it they were in Pennsylvania as Fiona slept peacefully next to him. His eyes started getting tired, so he pulled over to a cheap motel off of I-80. When he stopped the car, he tilted his head and stared down at Fiona. He reached over to caress her soft cheek. When she didn't budge, he leaned over to kiss her.

"Mhmm, hey Baby. Where are we?" she asked looking around.

"Pennsylvania. I was thinking maybe should stop for the night." he smiled caressing her face.

"OK Baby. That might be a good idea. I'm hungry anyway." she smiled looking up at him.

"Why don't I get us a room and you can call Collins and Mark to let them know we're OK but don't tell them where we are. It's too dangerous for them." he suggested looking down at her.

"OK Baby. I'll wait for you here. Be careful, OK?" she said looking up at him.

"Don't worry Fee. I'll be fine." he smiled kissing her again before getting out of the car. She reached into her pocket to retrieve the cell phone Mr. Davis had given her and called them.

"Hello." Collins answered. He was laughing.

"Hi Professor." she laughed slouching down in the seat.

"Hey Babygirl. Where are you? Is everything OK?" he asked getting Mark's attention.

"Where are they?" Mark asked looking over at him.

"It might be best if we don't tell you where we are. Just that we're OK." she said watching Roger pay for the hotel room in cash.

"OK Babygirl. Maybe that's best. You know I could never hold up to torture the way Roger can." he laughed looking over at Mark.

"Yeah, and all they'd have to do to poor Marky was look at his camera cross eyed and he'd spill the beans " she laughed.

"You got that right Babygirl." he laughed looking up at Mark.

"Any word yet?" she asked looking up as Roger came out with the hotel key.

"We found out how they found Roger at the college." he told her getting serious.

"How?" she asked as Roger opened the car door.

"Jake called asking if you had enrolled in any classes. He'd been doing it since you left him. He must have known it was only a matter of time before you went back to school. Finding Roger must have been a bonus." he said looking down.

"Do the cops know?" she asked as Roger got back in the car.

"Yeah. They said they're close Babygirl. They don't know how close, but they're close. They're trying their best so you guys could come home. But it's gonna take a little more time. Just be patient, OK?" he asked looking over at Mark.

"I guess we have no choice, huh?" she said as Roger took her hand.

"Sorry Babygirl." he said looking down again.

"It's not your fault sweetie. Thanks. Um... listen, Mr. Davis gave us an untraceable cell phone and I'm gonna give you the number in case you need us, but please memorize it and destroy the piece of paper you write it on, OK? That goes for Mark too. Only you two and Roger's parents can have the number." she said looking over at Roger.

"OK Babygirl. I understand." he said getting a pen and paper to write the number down. When they were done they hung up the phone.

"Is everything OK Baby?" he asked looking over at her.

"Jake must have been calling the college since I left. That's how he found us. The registrar told him where I'd be. When they saw you, I guess it was away for them to get to me." she said putting the phone back in her pocket.

"It'll be OK Fee. They're gonna get him. He'll slip up and they'll get him" he said leaning over to hold her in his arms.

"Roger, can we just go up to our room please? I need to get out of this car." she said looking up at him.

"Sure Baby. Anything you want." he agreed letting her go and getting their bags before going up to their room. The next morning Fiona was sleeping in the bed next to Roger. He woke up first. He rolled over carefully and looked over at her. She looked so beautiful. He wanted to ask her to marry him right there, but knew it would be a bad idea. Especially with the way she was feeling about all of this. "Fee. Fee Baby, we gotta get up." he whispered reaching over to her.

"What time is it?" she asked looking up at him as she stretched.

"It's 9. I was thinking we could go get some breakfast and be on the road by 11. I wanna get to Cleveland some time today." he smiled caressing her face.

"Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?" she smiled looking over at him.

"Yeah, can we?" he asked looking over at her.

"Of course we can Baby. It's your temple." she laughed reaching over to caress his face too.

"Thanks Baby. Come on. We should get moving." he smiled getting out of bed.

"Roger, I love you." she called out looking up at him.

"Fee, I love you too." he smiled looking over at her before continuing to the bathroom to take a shower.


	13. Chapter 13

"Roger, where do you think you're going?" Fiona asked looking up from her book as she sat in the hotel room.

"Um... down to the pool. Wanna come?" he smiled draping the towel over his bare shoulder as he stood by the door in his bathing suit and little else.

"Are you kidding? I thought you wanted to stay in the room. In case Jake had guys traveling across the country looking for us." she asked looking up at him.

"I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I need to get out of here." he laughed looking over at her.

"Roger the hermit needs to get out? Now that's funny." she laughed looking up at him.

"Well, I'm freaking out. Come on Baby. Come down to the pool with me." he whined looking over at her.

"But what about your safety?" she asked looking over at him.

"It'll be fine Fee. It's been 3 months and we've been stuck in either hotel rooms or the car the whole time. We're perfectly safe, now let's have some fun." he smiled going over to her.

"I could use time out of this room." she smiled as he leaned down next to her.

"That's my girl. Now go put on that sexy bathing suit of yours and let's have some fun in the sun." he smiled taking her book from her before leaning in to kiss her.

"OK Roger. You win.. I'll go get my suit on." she smiled reaching over to caress his cheek. He was fully healed now from the beating he took a few months earlier.

"That's my girl." he smiled as she got up and went into the bathroom to put her bathing suit on. As Roger waited for Fiona, the cell phone rang. He looked down at the number. It was Collins. He pressed the button. "Hello?" he said nervously leaning forward on his knees.

"Roger, you'll never guess what just happened." Collins said excitedly.

"What?" he asked standing up from the couch.

"The feds took over the case and they got him. Him and his crew were caught. They just called to tell us. They said it's a witness tampering case since beat you up trying to get to Fee. You and Fee can come home now. You may have to testify against them, but you're safe now. It's over." he said as Roger stood there quietly running his fingers through his now out grown dirty blond hair.

"You're kidding? Tell me you're not kidding." he said pacing around the hotel room.

"I'm not kidding man. You guys can come home now." he smiled excitedly.

"Who's on the phone Baby?" Fiona asked coming out of the bathroom in her white and pink bikini.

"Collins. They got him. Him and his crew were arrested. They said we can come home now." he said looking over at her.

"Are you serious? Please tell me you're serious." she said looking over at him.

"I'm serious Baby. It's over. We can go home now." he said looking over at her still holding the phone to his ear.

"Oh my God Roger. Do you know what this means?" she screamed excitedly running into his arms.

"We can go home and get married now." he smiled looking down at her.

"We can what?" she asked looking up at him surprised.

"You can what now?" Collins asked still on the phone.

"Um... Collins, can I call you back?" he asked looking down at Fiona.

"Sure man. I'll talk to you soon." he said smiling at Mark.

"Thanks man. I mean it. Thanks." he smiled before pressing the button to disconnect the call.

"Roger, what are you talking about? Since when do you wanna get married?" she asked looking up at him.

"For a while now. Since before we had to run." he smiled looking down at her as she pulled gently pulled away from him to pace the hotel room.

"Why Roger? Don't you think things are going good the way they are?" she asked looking over at him before sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Yeah, I do Fee. That's why I wanna marry you. I love you and I don't want to live the rest of my life without you." he smiled sitting next to her.

"Why do you want to marry me? My life is so complicated. Look at what the last guy I was engaged to did? We're on the run because of him." she said looking up at him.

"But we don't have to be on the run anymore. They got him. We're safe now. And I love you Fee." he smiled wrapping his arms around her.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing? I mean, we're gonna probably have to testify against him and the guys who beat you up. Things are not gonna calm down any time soon. Are you sure you want to get married in the middle of all of it?" she asked looking up at him.

"I've never been so sure of anything in my life. I love you Fee. Marry me." he smiled sliding off of the bed to kneel down in front of her.

"I love you so much Roger. You know that, right?" she asked looking down at him with tears in her eyes.

"Of course I know that Fee." he smiled reaching up to caress her face.

"I'll always love you and I'll always be here. Whether we get married or not." she said looking down at him.

"Fee, I love you. I want to give you what you never had. A real family." he told her as tears fell from her eyes.

"We don't need to get married for you to do that. You already have." she said wiping her face.

"But I want you to be my wife Fee. I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy. It's all I want to do." he smiled looking up into her glistening blue eyes.

"OK Roger." she smiled looking down at him.

"Yes? You'll marry me?" he asked looking up at her surprised.

"Yes Roger. I'll marry you." she smiled as he jumped up to hold her in his arms.

"I love you Fee. So much." he whispered holding her in his arms.

"I love you too Roger." she smiled holding him tight.

"Now, come on. Let's have some fun." he smiled leaning down to kiss her.

"What did you have in mind?" she asked looking up at him.

"We can go down to the pool and have some fun and then I wanna take my fiance out to dinner." he smiled looking down at her.

"To celebrate our engagement?" she smiled looking up at him.

"Yeah Baby. To celebrate our engagement." he whispered bringing her into a long, tender kiss.

* * *

"So what kind of wedding do you want? I was thinking a big church wedding with all the trimmings. Long train, veil, flowers." Fiona smiled as they lay on floats in the pool holding hands. 

"You and my mom freaking out over details." he added looking over at her.

"Hey, you only get married once. Why shouldn't it be perfect?" she asked smiling at him.

"You're right Baby. Whatever you need me to do. I'll do." he smiled bringing her hand up to his lips kissing it.

"Even wear a tux?" she asked looking over at him.

"Even wear a tux." he smiled looking over at her.

"Thank you Roger. I love you." she smiled squeezing his hand.

"I love you too Fiona." he smiled before laying his head back again to enjoy the Nevada sun.

* * *

"Fiona, let's go. We have 8 o'clock reservations and you're cutting it really close." Roger yelled standing in the hotel room waiting for her to come out of the bathroom. 

"I'm coming. I wish you would be a little more patient. It takes time to look this good." she smiled coming out of the bathroom putting her earrings on.

"Oh Fee, you look... Wow." he smiled looking over at her. Stammering over her words.

"I love doing that to you." she laughed looking over at him.

"What? Turning me into a bumbling idiot?" he asked smiling down at her.

"Nope. Turning you into a ball of fluff." she giggled leaning up to kiss him.

"You look beautiful Fee." he smiled looking down at her. She was wearing a loose fitting black dress that went down to her mid thigh with black stockings and high heels. Her hair was slicked back and her hoop earrings hung down from her ears. Her eyes were lined in black making her blue eyes stand out. Her lips were shined from clear lipgloss.

"You look great yourself." she smiled looking up at him. He was wearing dress pants and a white dress shirt. He had gone shopping earlier that day for something nice to wear when he took Fiona out for dinner.

"Well I couldn't look like a slob while my girl looks amazing." he smiled leaning down to kiss her.

"You could never look like a slob Roger. You look great all the time." she smiled looking up at him.

"With you on my arm I do. Now come on. We gotta go." he smiled looking down at her.

"OK Baby." she smiled looking up at him before they left the hotel room.


	14. Chapter 14

"Mom, calm down please. We haven't set a date yet." Roger laughed as Mrs. Davis and Fiona talked about the wedding.

"I'm sorry sweetie. I'm just so excited. Fiona is gonna be my daughter, for real." she squealed hugging Fiona again. It was the 5th time since they entered the house.

"Yeah Roger, this is very exciting. Stop ruining mom's good time." Fiona laughed looking over at him.

"Oh, you two are gonna be trouble, aren't you?" he laughed sitting in his father's chair.

"And you're surprised why?" Mr. Davis asked entering the room carrying a champagne bottle and 4 glasses.

"I thought you wanted a big wedding." Fiona asked as Mr. Davis handed the ladies their champagne glasses.

"I do, but no doves or ice sculptures, OK?" he laughed taking his champagne glass.

"Ooo doves." Fiona gushed looking over at Mrs. Davis.

"Don't even think about it Fee." he laughed pointing over at her.

"I'm kidding Baby. I would only want pink doves and there's no way they could dye them pink just for a wedding." she joked looking over at him.

"You are an evil woman." he laughed getting up to sit next to her on the couch.

"Yeah well, I gotta keep you on your toes, don't I?" she laughed leaning in to kiss him.

"OK, you two. We need to propose a toast to your engagement." Mr. Davis smiled looking over at them as Mrs. Davis got up from the couch to go to him.

"Sorry dad, we just kind of... you know." he started before Mr. Davis cut him off.

"Don't see anyone else, yeah, yeah, yeah. I know." he laughed looking down at them.

"Sorry dad." Fiona laughed looking up at him.

"I like the sound of that. To Roger and Fiona." Mr. Davis smiled holding his champagne glass up.

"To Roger and Fiona." Mrs. Davis smiled looking over at them.

"Thanks mom." Fiona smiled looking up at Roger as he kissed her head.

"I love you Baby." he whispered caressing her head.

"I love you too Roger." she smiled looking up at him before they drank their champagne.

* * *

"Are you sure you have to go back so soon? We would love it if you two stayed longer." Mrs. Davis said looking over at them as they packed the car.

"Yeah, we want to sleep in our own bed. It's been over 3 months." Roger smiled looking over at her.

"Well, you guys are welcome any time." Mr. Davis smiled looking over at them.

"Thanks dad. We'll be back. I promise." Fiona smiled standing next to Roger by the trunk.

"You better be. We have a wedding to plan." Mrs. Davis smiled leaning in to hug Fiona.

"Yeah, and you don't want Maureen helping her. She's gonna be even worse than the two of you put together." Roger laughed as Fiona leaned back to elbow Roger's stomach. "Ow. Dad, you saw that right? Spousal abuse." he whined looking down at Fiona.

"Well then don't be a jackass." Mr. Davis laughed looking over at him.

"Thank you dad." Fiona laughed looking up at him.

"Oh, I see how it is now." Roger laughed leaning down to sweep Fiona up into his arms.

"Roger, put me down. You damn goof ball." she squealed laughing at him.

"Just wanted to do this." he smiled leaning in to kiss her.

"Yeah, nice save Davis." she laughed caressing his face.

"I thought so." he smiled kissing her again before putting her down.

"You kids should get going. You don't want to hit the Yankees traffic." Mr. Davis laughed looking over at them.

"Yeah, those damn Yankees." Fiona laughed as Roger and Mr. Davis gave her a look.

"Watch it little girl." Mr. Davis laughed pointing at her.

"I knew that would get you two going." she laughed looking up at them.

"You better get in the car sweetie. The boys are liable to bite your head off if you keep talking about the Yankees like that." Mrs. Davis laughed looking down at her.

"Yes ma'am." she smiled leaning in to hug her before getting into the car.

"You drive carefully and call us when you get home, OK?" Mrs. Davis smiled leaning in to hug her son.

"I will mom. I have my wife to be in the car. I'll be really careful." he smiled looking down at her.

"I can't believe you're getting married. Fiona is a great girl." Mr. Davis smiled hugging his son.

"I know dad. It's wild." he smiled looking over at him.

"That it is." he smiled looking over at him.

"I better go. Collins, Mark, Maureen and Joanne are waiting for us." he said looking over at him.

"OK son. Just be careful, OK?" he smiled looking over at him.

"I will dad. Bye. Thanks for everything." he smiled before getting into the car.

"No problem Roger. Anything you need, call us." he said as Roger started the car and began to drive away.

"You're gonna really miss them, aren't you?" he said looking over at Fiona.

"Yeah, I am. But at least we're safe now so we can see them whenever we want." she smiled looking over at him.

"They love you Fee. You know that, right?" he asked looking over at her.

"I love them too Roger. I really do." she smiled taking his hand and squeezing it as he drove them back to the city.

* * *

"Babygirl, you have no idea how happy I am you're home." Collins yelled getting up from the couch to pick Fiona up into his arms hugging her tight.

"I'm happy to be home too Collins. I missed you guys so much." she said hugging him just as tight.

"Um... I'm home too, you know?" Roger whined dropping the bags on the floor by the door.

"Sorry Rog, hey." Collins smiled putting Fiona down to hug him.

"Yeah, too late. I already feel neglected." he sulked jokingly. "Where's Mark?" he asked looking around.

"The Life Cafe. Him, Maureen and Joanne are setting up a homecoming slash engagement party for you two." he smiled looking over at him.

"Oh yay. I'm gonna go get changed." Fiona called out excitedly rushing to her room.

"Yay. I'm friggin tired." Roger complained plopping on the couch.

"How are you guys doing?" Collins asked looking down at him.

"Great. Her and my mom have just been planning the wedding all week. They're going really crazy." he smiled running his fingers through his hair.

"What did you expect? Just wait until Maureen and Joanne get into it. You're gonna be lucky if Princess Diana's wedding out does yours." he laughed looking over at him.

"I know." he laughed looking over at him.

"So you're getting married? Look at you." he smiled looking over at him.

"Yeah, all growed up." he laughed tilting his head towards him.

"Are you happy?" Collins asked looking over at him.

"You have no idea. I don't want to go on with my life without her in it. I love her so much Collins." Roger smiled looking over at him.

"Good. That's all I care about. If you hurt that Babygirl, you're gonna have me to deal with. Got it?" he smiled looking over at him.

"Well, it's inevitable. But I'm gonna do everything I have to to make sure that's the only time." he said looking over at her.

"Deal." he smiled extending his hand to him.

"Are you ready Baby?" Fiona asked coming out of her room.

"Yeah Baby. I'm ready." he smiled looking up at her before him and Collins got up from the couch and followed her out of the loft.


	15. Chapter 15

"Fee? What are you doing up so early?" Roger asked rolling over in bed as Fiona rushed around the room to get her things together.

"Wedding gown shopping. Maureen and Joanne are meeting me uptown and then we're having lunch with your mom. Go back to sleep Baby." she whispered walking over to the bed.

"It's 8 o'clock in the morning Fee. Why do you guys have to go so early?" he asked propping himself up on his elbow.

"Because we have a lot of stores to hit. I want to make sure I get the perfect one." she smiled looking down at him.

"Anything you wear will be perfect. You know that." he smiled leaning up to kiss her.

"Roger, I want our wedding to be perfect. Right down to my dress. I'm not gonna wear just any dress. It has to be perfect." she said caressing his face with her thumb.

"It will be Fee. As long as we get married, it'll be the most perfect day of our lives." he smiled looking up at her.

"Yes it will. I just want to look perfect. There's nothing wrong with that." she smiled caressing his bare chest.

"OK Baby. I get it. Have fun. Don't forget, I have band practice this afternoon and we have to be at the club at 8." he smiled looking up at her.

"OK Baby. I'll be back in time. I promise. I love you." she smiled looking down at him.

"I love you too Fee." he smiled leaning up to kiss her again. This time it was passionate.

"Eww, morning breath. Not cool Roger." she laughed looking into his green eyes.

"Oh yeah?" he asked starting to tackle her to the bed.

"I have to go Roger." she squealed looking up at him.

"OK, I'm sorry. I'll see you later Baby." he laughed looking over at her as he let her go.

"Bye." she smiled getting up and leaving the room.

"God you guys are loud in the morning." Mark complained sitting at the metal counter drinking coffee.

"Sorry Marky. I'm going out with Maureen and Joanne to look for a wedding dress. I'll be back later." she smiled looking over at him.

"At 8 o'clock in the morning?" he asked looking up at her.

"Yeah, we're have a lot of stores to hit in the city and then we're meeting Mrs. Davis for lunch." she smiled looking over at him.

"Oh, cool. Have fun. Roger's performing tonight, right?" he asked looking over at him.

"Yeah. I'll be back in time. I'll see you later Mark." she smiled before opening the loft door and leaving.

"Hey Mark." Roger smiled coming out of his room wearing sweatpants and no shirt.

"Hey. Did Fee wake you up?" he asked looking over at him.

"Yeah. But I don't mind. I would have missed her otherwise." he smiled looking over at him as he poured himself coffee.

"She's really excited about the wedding, huh?" Mark asked looking back at him.

"Yeah, she is." he laughed before taking a sip.

"Are you guys gonna move out when you get married?" Mark asked point blank, catching Roger off guard.

"I don't know Mark. We haven't talked about it yet. But if we do move out, it doesn't mean we're not still gonna be friends." he said looking over at him.

"I know. I've just never lived here without you." he said looking over at him.

"Yeah you have. Remember, when I went to Santa Fe after Angel and then when me and Fee had to go on the run." he said looking over at him.

"Yeah but that was temporary and I knew that. When you get married, it's gonna be permanent." he said looking over at him.

"Mark, no matter what happens, you're my best friend. You know I would never completely abandon you. We've been through too much. Fee included." he said looking over at him.

"I know. I'm sorry Roger. I'm just not looking forward to living in this loft alone." he said looking down into his coffee.

"I know Mark. It'll be OK. You'll see." he smiled going over to the window seat.

* * *

"Fiona? Is that you?" a young dark haired woman asked as Fiona, Maureen and Joanne looked through the racks at the bridal shop.

"Francesca. Um... hi. How are you?" she asked looking over at her uncomfrotably.

"Where have you been? Jake was looking all over for you before he got picked up last month." she asked looking over at her. Her hair was long and frosted, her make up was mild, but beautiful and her nails were long and french manicured.

"Yeah, I know. I had to get away from him. There were things he was doing that I was really uncomfortable about." she said looking over at her.

"Yeah, well in case you were wondering Tony got picked up too." she told her putting her hands on her hips.

"I know. I'm sorry Frankie. I just..." she started when Francesca interrupted her.

"Did you ever think about what you were doing to your so called friends?" she asked looking over at her.

"I couldn't do it Frankie. I saw him beat that guy up and I couldn't keep quiet." she said looking over at her.

"Yeah and then you ran away. You liked the advantages of being with Jake but not how he got it." she said looking over at her.

"Yeah and he had his guys beat up my boyfriend to get to me. Did Tony tell you that?" she said looking over at her.

"Whatever Fiona. You were engaged to Jake. You had no right to be dating anyone anyway." she said looking over at her as Maureen moved Fiona aside.

"Listen um... Frankie is it? Yeah, um you should really adjust your tone. Fiona had the right to get out if she wanted to. So if you don't want to have a couple of other problems, other than your man being incarcerated, I'd shut up, turn around and walk away if I were you." Maureen said stepping in front of Fiona.

"And who are you?" Francesca asked looking up at her.

"I'm gonna be a problem if you don't follow my advice. Your man is in prison. Boo hoo. He shouldn't have become a mobster when he grew up. Now if you'll excuse us. We're trying to look for the perfect wedding dress for my best friend here." Maureen said turning her back on Francesca. Francesca just looked at Fiona and walked away.

"Oh my God Maureen. Thank you so much. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't broke in like that." she said looking over at her.

"It was nothing. How do you like this one?" she asked pulling out a wedding gown as Fiona and Joanne continued to look at her. "What?" she asked looking over at her.

"I have never seen you like that before. I liked it." Joanne smiled looking over at her.

"Oh Pookie, it was nothing. I watched Goodfellas last night. You know, Robert DeNiro plays a great mobster?" she smiled still holding the wedding gown in her hand.

"And that is why you're my maid of honor. You got a set a balls on you." Fiona laughed throwing her arms around Maureen hugging her.

"You know I would never let anyone hurt you." she smiled looking over at her.

"You're amazing Maureen." Fiona laughed looking over at her.

"Yeah well, I could have told you that. Now are we gonna look at wedding dresses or are we gonna continue stating the obvious?" she asked looking over at her.

"That's Maureen." Joanne laughed looking over at her.

* * *

"Hi mom. Have you been waiting long?" Fiona asked looking down at Mrs. Davis as she sat at the table.

"Nope, I just got here. How did wedding shopping go?" she asked looking over at her.

"Great. We didn't find anything, but Maureen told off an old friend of mine." Fiona laughed as she, Maureen and Joanne sat down.

"An old friend of yours? One that could get you hurt?" she asked worried.

"Well, she was dating one of the guys that beat Roger up, but he's in jail and she was mad at me for ratting them out. But Maureen took care of her. She really told her off. You should have seen her mom. She was amazing." Fiona smiled looking over at Maureen.

"Well, no one treats my best friend like that. Can we order drinks now? I'm dying of thirst here." she smiled leaning her elbows on the table.

"Sure Maureen. Anything for you. You protected my future daughter in law." Mrs. Davis smiled as she waved the waiter over.

"What protect? I had fun. I love strong arming people. It was fun to have someone else to play with. Playing with Mark is getting too easy." she laughed as Joanne looked over at her in shock.

"Maureen." she called out trying not to laugh.

"What? It is." she laughed as the woman enjoyed their lunch.


	16. Chapter 16

"Mark wants to know if we're gonna move out when we get married." Roger said looking over at Fiona as they got ready for bed.

"Do you want to move out?" she asked looking over at him as she slipped into her shorts.

"I don't know, do you?" he asked looking over at her.

"No I don't. I love it here Roger." she smiled quietly as she approached the bed.

"I don't want to move out either Baby." he smiled as she got into bed laying in his arms.

"So we'll stay here." she smiled leaning up to kiss him.

"Mark will be thrilled." he smiled pulling her closer to him.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure he will. He can't stand to be around us now. Imagine how he's gonna feel when we're married." she laughed looking up at him.

"It'll be OK Baby. He just doesn't want to live here alone. He's never done it before." he said looking down at her.

"It's OK Roger. I have no problem living here with you and Mark. I like it here actually. This is my home." she smiled leaning up to kiss him again.

"Thanks Baby. I would just hate to leave Mark high and dry." he smiled caressing her face.

"Roger, it's OK not to want to leave Mark. I don't want to leave him either." she smiled looking up at him.

"OK, so it's settled. We're staying put when we get married." he smiled caressing her bare shoulder.

"Yeah we are." she smiled looking up at him before getting comfortable in his arms again where she fell asleep. The next morning Roger woke up alone in bed. He looked around the bedroom to see of Fiona's pocket book was gone and it wasn't, so he knew she was still home. He got out of bed and went to the living area. Mark wasn't up yet but he noticed the bathroom door was shut. He went into the kitchen and started making coffee. When the bathroom door opened, it was Fiona.

"Good morning Baby." he smiled as he poured the water into the receptical of the coffee maker.

"Hey Baby. Um... can we talk?" she asked walking over to him. She was wearing one of his rock t-shirts and a pair of his boxers.

"Sure. What's the matter Baby?" he asked looking down at her.

"Um Roger... I'm um... I'm pregnant." she said looking up at him handing him the pregnancy test as tears stung her eyes.

"You're... you're um... you're..." he started when she interrupted him.

"Yeah, my sentiments exactly." she said looking down.

"Baby, that's not what I mean. I'm just..." he started when she interrupted him again.

"I know Roger, me too. The last thing I was thinking of was getting pregnant. Especially now. I mean, I have a wedding to plan and I was just about to start school again in the fall." she cried looking up at him.

"Fee, this is a good thing. We're in love and we're getting married in a few months. We're gonna be parents." he smiled taking her face in his hands.

"You're not scared? Because I'm terrified." she said looking up at him. The tears fell freely from her eyes.

"No, I'm not. Fee, I love you and I know the fact that you're pregnant is a miracle in itself. With all of the precautions we take because of the HIV, you got pregnant anyway. Baby, you're not gonna have to do this alone. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. It's gonna be OK Fee, I promise." he smiled looking down at her.

"How do you know Roger? How can you be so sure that everything is gonna be OK?" she asked looking up at him.

"Because I know I love you and I love this baby already." he whispered looking down into her glistening blue eyes.

"Roger, how can you not be scared to death?" she asked looking up at him.

"Because you're my life Fee and I know I want to spend the rest of my life with you." he said smiling down at her.

"We need to go to the doctor and make sure everything is OK." she said looking up at him.

"Does that mean you're not scared anymore?" he asked looking down at her.

"No, it means I'm having a baby. I'm still scared out of my mind, but it's a good scared." she smiled looking up at him.

"I love you so much Fiona." he smiled leaning down to wrap his arms around her waist and pick her up.

"We need to go to the clinic so I can get checked out." she smiled looking up at him.

"Don't worry Baby. Everything is gonna be great. We have to tell Mark and Collins and everyone. Oh my God, Collins is gonna kill me." he said putting her down.

"Baby, everything is gonna be OK. He's gonna be happy for us." she smiled looking up at him.

"No, he's gonna kill me. I got you pregnant. If anything happens to you, he'll kill me. You don't know how protective he is of you. He threatened me if I hurt you." he said looking down at her.

"Baby, it's OK. He's gonna be an uncle. Just let me tell him, OK?" she laughed looking up at him.

"OK, yeah. Um... he can't hurt you. You're pregnant. I'm just gonna be around the corner at the bar when you tell him, OK?" he said looking down at him.

"Roger, you're exhaggerating. He's gonna be fine. But don't you think we should wait until the doctor confirms it before we tell everyone?" she asked looking up at him.

"OK Baby. We'll go to the clinic and then we'll tell everyone later." he smiled looking down at her.

"OK Roger. I'm gonna go get changed. I love you Roger." she smiled leaning up to kiss him.

"I love you too Baby." he smiled wrapping his arms around her waist and holding her in his arms again.

"We're gonna have a baby." she whispered in his ear smiling.

"I know." he whispered back leaning in to kiss her head.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Are you ready Baby?" she asked looking up at Roger as they stood outside the building.

"Yeah Baby. I'm ready. But remember, you're the one telling Collins." he smiled looking down at her.

"You are such a baby. Fine, I'll tell him. But you have to tell your parents." she smiled looking up at him.

"Deal." he smiled looking down at her before opening the door for her.

"Where have you guys been? I thought we were supposed to go looking for shoes." Maureen asked looking over at her.

"I had to go to the doctor. Um... we have something we need to talk about." Fiona said looking over at everyone.

"No Babygirl. Don't even say it. I don't want to hear it." Collins said getting up from the couch.

"Collins, wait. Sweetie, it's not what you think. I swear." she said going over to him.

"Well if your negative, you wouldn't want to talk to us, so tell me you're not positive." he said looking down at her.

"I'm not positive Collins. I swear." she told him taking his hand.

"So what's the matter? Why were you at the clinic?" he asked looking down at her fighting tears.

"I'm pregnant Collins. I'm having mine and Roger's baby." she smiled looking up at him.

"Are you serious Babygirl? Please tell me you're serious." he smiled looking down at her.

"I'm serious sweetie. I promise. I'm fine. The doctor said I'm fine. I'm 6 weeks pregnant and he did an HIV test just to make sure, but he said there's a good chance that I'm gonna be negative since Roger and I always use protection. He said just because I got pregnant it doesn't mean I'm positive." she smiled looking up at him.

"You guys are pregnant? That's amazing." Maureen squealed looking up at Roger as Fiona continued to stand in front of Collins. He didn't seem to know what to do with that information.

"Are you OK Collins?" she asked looking up at him as he looked down at her with tears in his eyes.

"Yeah Babygirl... I'm fine. Um... you're gonna be a mama?" he asked looking down at her.

"Yep, so what do you think?" she asked smiling up at him.

"I think this is the most amazing thing. I'm so happy for you." he smiled leaning down to hug her gently.

"It's OK Collins. I'm not gonna break." she laughed looking up at him as Roger watched smiling.

"Congratulations Babygirl." he cried hugging her tighter.

"Are you OK sweetie?" she asked laughing as she looked up at him.

"I'm great Babygirl. You're quiet. Get over here boy. You're about to be a daddy and I need to congratulate you." he smiled looking up at Roger.

"I was afraid you would kill me for getting Fee pregnant." he laughed looking over at her.

"You're gonna be a daddy. I can't very well kick your ass now, can I?" he asked looking over at him.

"This is a good thing Collins. It really is." she smiled looking up at him.

"I know it is. We need to celebrate. But no celebrating for you. You're pregnant." he laughed looking down at her.

"I can celebrate, I just can't drink." she smiled looking up at him.

"Right. That's what I meant." he smiled still holding her in his arms.

"Congratulations guys." Mark smiled getting up from the chair.

"Thanks Mark. Now you're not only gonna have me and Roger here, but you're gonna have a baby too. How do you feel about that?" Fiona asked smiling over at him.

"The more the merrier." he smiled getting up to congratulate them.


	17. Chapter 17

"Mom, dad we're here." Roger called out as he dropped his and Fiona's bags next to the door as they entered the Davis residence.

"Where could they be?" Fiona asked when they didn't get an answer.

"I don't know. The cars are in the driveway. Maybe they're in the yard." Roger said looking down at her with his arm around her waist.

"Oh man." she said covering her mouth before rushing to the downstairs bathroom.

"Are you OK Baby?" Roger asked rushing after her.

"Yeah, just... you know. I'll be OK in a minute. Can you bring my toothbrush in please?" she said leaning over the toilet throwing up.

"OK Baby, I'm gonna go check the back yard. Meet me outside when you're OK, OK Baby?" he asked looking down at her.

"OK Baby. Just don't tell them until I get out there, OK?" she asked looking up at him.

"I won't Baby. I promise. Are you gonna be OK?" he asked looking down at her.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Go. I don't want them coming in seeing me hunched over the toilet." she said looking up at him.

"OK Fee. I'll see you outside." he said looking down at her before closing the door to the bathroom and going to the back yard.

"Roger, you're here. Where's Fiona?" Mrs. Davis asked getting up from the table.

"She had to go to the bathroom. What are you guys going out here?" he asked leaning down to hug his mother.

"It's a nice day and we thought it would be a shame to waste it inside. How are things going?" Mr. Davis asked looking up at him.

"Good. Maureen and Fee are driving me nuts with all the details, but everything is coming together." he smiled looking over at him as Fiona came up behind him wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Are you talking about me?" she asked smiling up at him.

"I was just telling my parents how you and Maureen are driving me crazy with all the details for the wedding." he laughed reaching back to wrap his arms around her.

"You just don't want to wear a tuxedo, you big brooding baby." she laughed looking up at him.

"Hey. I'm not brooding." he laughed leaning down to kiss her.

"I say you are." she laughed as he held her close.

"Ahem. Hey, remember us?" Mr. Davis laughed looking over at them.

"Um... sorry dad." Fiona laughed looking over at him as she buried her head into Roger's chest.

"Don't listen to him. You look so beautiful Fiona." Mrs. Davis smiled walking over to hug her.

"Thanks mom." she smiled looking up at Roger.

"Mom, dad. Fiona's pregnant." Roger blurted out smiling down at her.

"You're pregnant. Oh sweetheart that's wonderful. Congratulations." Mrs. Davis smiled looking over at Fiona as she hugged her again.

"So you're gonna be a father, huh?" Mr. Davis smiled looking up at Roger. Roger just looked back at him nervous. He wasn't sure what his father's reaction would be. Him and Fiona weren't married yet, but she was pregnant.

"Yeah dad. I'm gonna be a father." he smiled looking over at him.

"Congratulations son." he smiled walking over to hug him.

"Thanks dad." he smiled breathing a sigh of relief.

"So how far along are you? When are you due? You have to tell us everything. Did you go to the doctor? Did you get an HIV test?" Mrs. Davis asked bombarding Fiona with questions.

"Slow down mom. One thing at a time." Roger laughed looking down at her.

"It's OK Roger. She's excited." Fiona laughed looking up at him before directing her attention to Mrs. Davis. "Well, I'm 6 weeks pregnant, I'm due at the end of the year, I went to the doctor and he took an HIV test, but he said that there's a good chance that it's negative." she smiled looking over at her.

"Good. When do you get your test results?" she asked looking over at her.

"In a few days. But it'll be fine." she smiled looking up at Roger.

"This deserves a celebration. We're gonna be grandparents." Mr. Davis smiled leaning over to hug Fiona. "Congratulations little girl. This is great news." he smiled leaning down to kiss Fiona'a head.

"Thanks dad." she smiled looking up at him. He's been calling her little girl since he met her. It was a show of affection. She knew where Roger got his over protectiveness from. Mr. Davis had been protective of Fiona since they met.

"I'll go get the champagne." Mrs. Davis smiled going into the house.

"Milk for me mom. I am pregnant, you know?" Fiona smiled looking over at her.

"You like saying that, don't you?" Mr. Davis asked looking down at her.

"Yeah, I really do. I can't believe I'm pregnant." she smiled looking up at Roger.

"You're gonna be an incredible mom Fee." Roger smiled leaning down to kiss her head.

"I have a feeling you're gonna be an incredible father too Roger." Mr. Davis smiled looking up at him.

"Thanks dad. I had a great role model." he smiled looking over at him as Mr. Davis came out with the champagne bottle, 3 empty glasses and a glass of milk for Fiona.

* * *

"Why is this so damn tight?" Fiona asked as she stood in the dress shop as the dress maker struggled to button the top buttons of her dress. 

"Your boobies are huge Fee. You're 2 months pregnant. What do you expect?" Maureen laughed looking up at her.

"Thanks a lot Maureen. Like I need you to announce it to the world." she laughed looking over at her.

"Congratulations. You and your fiance must be very happy." the dress maker said looking over at her.

"We are. Thank you." she smiled looking over at her.

"Maybe we should consider taking your dress out a bit. By the time the big day comes, you're gonna be showing." she smiled looking over at her.

"Yeah, maybe that would be best." she smiled looking over at her.

"OK, I'll be right back." she smiled looking over at her.

"Thank you." she smiled looking over at her.

"I can't believe it. I finally get a decent set of boobs and they'll be gone as soon as I give birth." she laughed looking over at Maureen.

"Don't worry sweetie. Roger's not a boob man anyway. He's strictly booty." Maureen laughed looking over at her.

"Yeah, good thing my booty is gonna be as big as a house." she laughed looking over at him.

"You know Roger doesn't care about that, right?" Maureen asked looking over at her.

"I know. He thinks I look beautiful no matter what." she smiled looking over at her.

"Well he's in love with you sweetie." she smiled looking over at her.

"Yeah, he's definitely in love with me, isn't he?" she smiled looking over at her.

"Yeah he is. How about this headpiece with this veil?" she asked showing her a tiara and a veil. The veil hung to her waist and was beautiful.

"Thank you for all of your help Maureen. I never would have been able to do any of this by myself." she smiled looking over at her.

"No problem Fee. You know you're my best friend. It's my pleasure to help you with your wedding. God knows I'll never get to do this for my own wedding." she said playing with the veil.

"I know sweetie. I'm sorry. But you know, you can always have a commitment ceremony." she smiled looking over at her.

"Nah, the last time we tried that, it didn't work out too well. Things are just fine the way they are with me and Joanne. I don't want to rock the boat, you know?" she smiled looking over at her.

"I understand. I thought the same thing when Roger asked me to marry him, but then I realized that I couldn't live without him. Maybe by the time you're ready to get married, gay marriage will be legal and there will be nothing to stop you." she smiled looking over at her.

"I know sweetie. Thanks." she smiled leaning in to hug her as the dress maker came back out with her tools to let the dress out.

"OK, now let's get this dress comfortable for a mother to be." she smiled looking over at her.

"Thanks." Fiona smiled looking down at her.


	18. Chapter 18

"Baby, what are you doing? It's 4 in the morning." Roger asked being woken up by Fiona moving the bedroom furniture around.

"I couldn't sleep, so I decided to change around the furniture. You know, if we moved this dresser over there and put that lamp in that corner, it opens the whole room up." she said wiping her forehead with the back of her hand.

"Baby, you're pregnant. You shouldn't be moving heavy funiture. Come back to bed. I'll move that wherever you want in the morning." he said leaning up on his elbow.

"I've been wanting to do this for months. I don't know why I didn't. I'm almost done and then I'll come go back to bed." she said looking down at him before starting to push the dresser the rest of the way across the room.

"Fee, let me at least help you." he said getting out of bed to go to her.

"It's OK Roger. I can do it myself. Why don't you go back to bed?" she said looking up at him as he stood before her in his boxers and no shirt.

"Fee, what's this all about. And don't tell me that my dresser being over there was bothering you." he asked looking down at her.

"My nausea is gone and I have all this energy now and I couldn't sleep so I felt like moving the dresser. It's no big deal Baby, really." she smiled looking up at him.

"Oh yeah, when we're done with this, do you think you'll have enough energy for a little of this?" he asked leaning down to kiss her passionately.

"Perhaps." she giggled wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him closer to her.

"So let's get this moved." he smiled kissing her nose.

"How about we leave it until the morning? I want my fiance now." she smiled looking up at him.

"Works for me." he smiled scooping her up into his arms and carrying her to the bed.

"I figured you'd like that." she laughed as he placed her gently on the bed and started unbuttoning her night shirt.

"I love you Fee." he smiled caressing her small 3 and a half months pregnant belly.

"I love you too Roger." she smiled sliding his boxers off of his body. He reached into the night stand for a condom and they began making love. When they were done, they fell asleep in each others arms. The next morning Roger was up first. He looked down at Fiona, who was still fast asleep. She looked so beautiful. He gently caressed her pregnant belly before getting out of bed. He put his boxers back on and slipped on a pair of sweatpants. He moved the dresser over to the other side of the room before going out into the living area.

"Good morning Rog." Mark smiled looking over at him.

"Hey." he smiled looking over at him.

"What was all that noise coming from your room last night? It sounded like you were moving furniture or something." he laughed looking over at him.

"My crazy, hormonal fiance came up with the bright idea of moving one of the dressers across the room and decided to do it at 4 this morning." he laughed going over to pour himself a cup of coffee.

"I take it the morning sickness is gone." he laughed looking over at him.

"Yeah, now she has all this energy that she doesn't know what to do with, so she's moving furniture in the middle of the night." he laughed looking over at him.

"No one said pregnancy was gonna be fun." Mark laughed looking over at him.

"The thing is, it is fun. I mean, I like watching her belly get big and stuff. It's like there's someone in there or something." he smiled looking over at him.

"Roger, there is someone in there." he laughed looking over at him.

"I know. It's just weird. I mean, I never imagined that I'd get married, let alone have a kid and I'm gonna have both next month." he said looking over at him.

"I know Roger. But you and Fee are gonna be great. You're gonna get married and then when this baby is born you guys are gonna be amazing parents. This is gonna be the luckiest in the world." Mark smiled looking up at him.

"I'm gonna love this kid more than any kid has ever been loved in the history of time. I'm not gonna let Fee down." he said looking over at him.

"Roger, you could never let me down. I hope you know that." Fiona said standing in the doorway of hers and Roger's bedroom.

"I just don't want to leave you and the baby." he said putting his coffee mug down to go over to her.

"You are healthy and you're gonna stay that way. I wish you wouldn't talk like that." she said looking up at him as he put his hands on her upper arms.

"I'm not going anywhere Baby. At least not now. I'm just not looking forward to leaving you and the baby." he said looking down at her.

"I know Roger, but we can't think like that. All we should be thinking about now is getting married and preparing for when our baby is born." she said looking up into his green eyes.

"I'm sorry Fee. I just can't help but think about things like that." he said taking her into his arms.

"I know Roger, but I just want to get married and have a beautiful healthy baby." she said looking up at him.

"With a mommy like you, there's no doubt our baby is gonna be gorgeous." he smiled leaning down to kiss her head.


	19. Chapter 19

"Fee, are you OK in there?" Maureen asked knocking on the bedroom door.

"Yeah, come on in Maureen." she called out standing in front of the full length mirror. Her dress fit perfectly around her 5 months pregnant belly.

"You look amazing sweetie." she smiled looking over at her.

"Thanks. Is Dana here yet?" she asked looking over at her.

"Yeah, she just got here. She's helping Joanne with her hair." she smiled looking over at her as she took the veil off of the hook and brought it over to Fiona. "How are you doing?"

"I'm so nervous. Am I supposed to be so nervous?" she asked looking over at her.

"Of course you are sweetie. You're about to become someone's wife, and in not too many months someone's mother. That's really big." she smiled looking over at her.

"It's huge. I mean, I've never had anyone real in my life and now I'm gonna have a husband, a child, parents and brothers and sister who love me enough to do anything for me." she smiled looking over at her as she put the veil on her head.

"Well sweetheart, now you have all of us to take care of you and my little grandson." Mrs. Davis smiled from the doorway.

"Mom, you have no idea how happy I am that you're here." she smiled rushing over to the older woman.

"It's OK sweetie. I'm here now." she smiled hugging her tight.

"I'm so nervous." she said looking over at her.

"I know sweetheart, but you have nothing to be nervous about. You and Roger are in love, you're getting married and you're gonna make incredible parents." she smiled looking over at her as she fixed her veil for her.

"I'm just nervous about being a good wife and mother. I never had anything until Roger came along and now I have everything." she said looking over at her with tears in her eyes.

"Sweetheart listen to me, the last thing you need to worry about is being a good wife and mother. You love Roger and you love this little boy here." she smiled looking down rubbing her belly.

"Thanks mom. It means a lot to me to have you here." she smiled looking over at her.

"Is my girl ready?" Collins asked looking into the room.

"Yeah sweetie, I'm ready." she smiled looking over at him as she carefully wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Let's go marry that boy." he smiled looking over at her.

"OK sweetie. I'll see you guys out there." she smiled looking over at her.

"Good luck sweetie." Dana smiled looking over at her.

"Thanks mom." she smiled turning to go towards the door.

"OK Babygirl, are you ready? Because if you want to blow this thing off, I know a great little place in the village where we could get away." he smiled looking down at her.

"Nope, I'm good. There's no other place I'd rather be." she smiled looking up at him.

"OK Babygirl, here we go." he smiled as the music began and they walked down the aisle towards Roger and Mark.

* * *

"Baby, are you up?" Roger whispered leaning in to Fiona's ear.

"No." she grumbled burying her face into the pillow more.

"Yes you are. Come on, you can't sleep the whole day away." he said kissing her neck.

"Why not?" she asked rolling over onto her back to look up at him.

"Because I have a surprise for you, come on." he smiled taking her hand and helping her up.

"A surprise? What did you do Roger?" she asked looking up at him.

"You'll see, but you have to get dressed first." he smiled looking down at her.

"You are an evil man." she smiled looking up at him.

"Quit complaining Mrs. Davis and let's go." he laughed leaning down to kiss her before getting out of the bed.

"Mrs. Davis. I still laugh whenever someone calls me that. I'm almost expecting your mother to be behind me or something." she laughed looking over at him.

"Yeah, it's weird. I never pictured myself married and now here you are. Not only are you my wife, but you're having our son." she smiled looking over at her.

"Yeah and our son wants some pancakes, scrambled eggs and bacon. Extra bacon actually." she smiled looking up at him.

"Why don't I take you out to breakfast at the Life Cafe. You can order anything you want." he sang looking down at her.

"OK Roger, what gives? You never take me to breakfast." she asked sitting up in the bed.

"Well, we've been married for a month and I want to celebrate. What's wrong with that?" he asked looking over at her.

"Nothing is wrong with that. If that's your real motive, which I happen to know it's not because I know you. But I'll go along with it only because I want to see what you're up to?" she smiled leaning over to kiss him before getting out of bed to go in the shower and get ready. Her short hair had grown to her shoulders so she put it up in a pony tail rather than blow dry it. She put on her maternity clothes and got ready to go out with Roger.

"Ready Baby?" he asked drinking his coffee in the kitchen.

"Yep. Let's go." she smiled slinging her big purse over her shoulder. "Mark, we'll be back later. I think." she yelled out looking up at Roger.

"Mark's out. I think he went filming or something." he said looking down at her.

"OK, um... do we need anything while we're out? Milk, juice?" she asked looking up at him.

"No, I think we're good. Mark went out and got stuff yesterday. Today is just for you." he smiled looking down at her.

"Let the games begin." she smiled looking up him as they left the loft. Roger led her towards the Life Cafe. "I'm gonna get the biggest breakfast they can make." she smiled looking up at him.

"I don't know how you can eat so much and still stay so little." he laughed looking down at her as they stood outside.

"So little? Roger, I'm almost 7 months pregnant. I'm huge." she laughed looking up at him.

"No way Baby. You're even sexier than the day we met." he smiled leaning down to kiss her.

"And you're sweeter than you were the day we met." she laughed looking up at him.

"Yeah, I was a jerk back then, huh?" he laughed looking down at her.

"Yeah you were, but you redeemed yourself that night, so it's OK." she smiled looking up at him.

"Well the way you came out, no make up wearing that long night shirt. You looked so sexy. I couldn't help but be nice to you." he smiled looking down at her.

"And the fact that you were watching Miami Vice made you sexy to me. I used to love that show when I was a teenager." she laughed looking up at him.

"What? There was nothing else on." he laughed defensively.

"Yeah sure. I bet you wanted to be Sonny Crocket when you were a teenager." she teased looking up at him.

"I was a metal head Fee. Where do you see me wearing pastels and shoes with no socks?" he asked looking down at her.

"I'm sorry Baby, I'm just messing with you." she laughed leaning up to kiss him before reaching out for the door.

"Allow me Mrs. Davis." he smiled taking the door knob and opening it for her.

"SURPRISE!!!!!" everyone yelled out as they entered the cafe.

"What the hell is this?" she asked looking up at Roger.

"A baby shower Babygirl. What do you think?" Collins asked walking over to her.

"I knew Roger was up to something." she laughed looking up at him.

"Sweetie, you look amazing. I've never seen you so beautiful." Mrs. Davis smiled wrapping her arms around Fiona.

"Thanks mom." she smiled looking over at her.

"Doesn't she have the most amazing glow about her?" Joanne smiled looking over at her.

"Yes she does." Roger smiled looking down at her as everyone hugged her hello.

"I can't believe you guys did this." she smiled looking around at everyone.

"It was your husband's idea." Mr. Davis smiled looking over at her.

"Oh it was, huh?" she smiled looking up at him.

"Well you need a baby shower. Our little man needs a party." he smiled looking down at her. As they sat down the party started.


	20. Chapter 20

"Mark, Collins can you please help him with those?" Fiona asked looking up at them.

"I got it Baby." Roger grunted struggling with the baby's crib, play pen and numerous shopping bags.

"No you don't. Let them help you. You know you have a bad back." she said looking up at him holding a couple of shopping bags in her arms.

"My back is fine." he complained looking over at her.

"Roger, you don't have to do it on your own." she said looking up at him.

"Yeah, stop being such a brooding tough guy." Collins said picking up the crib.

"Yeah Rog, geez. So you're getting older, you would think it was the end of the world." Mark teased looking over at Fiona laughing.

"You all that you're hilarious, don't you?" Roger asked as Mr. And Mrs. Davis, Maureen, Joanne and Collins laughed along.

"Well we are." she laughed looking up at him before they left the cafe to go home.

"Where the hell are we gonna put all this shit?" he asked as they walked up the stairs to the loft.

"Um... the baby's room." she told him looking over at him.

"But I haven't painted it yet or put up the borders or anything." he said looking over at her.

"Don't worry about it. Just put the stuff in there for now and we'll worry about it next week when you, Collins and Marky paint the baby's room." she smiled looking up at him.

"Yeah, yeah." he smiled looking down at her.

"Ugh, this has been such a tiring day." she said looking over at him before sitting on the couch.

"Do you want to take a nap Baby?" he asked looking over at her.

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea. I'm exhausted." she smiled looking up at him as she leaned her head on the back of the couch.

"Come on sweetie. I'll help you to bed." Mrs. Davis said looking over at her.

"Thanks mom." she smiled looking up at her as Roger and Mr. Davis helped her up.

"Go ahead Baby, go lay down. We'll finish putting all this stuff in the baby's room." he smiled looking down at her.

"Thanks Baby. I'm sorry I can't help you. I'm just really tired." she said looking up at him as he leaned down to kiss her.

"I hope she's OK. She's been really tired lately." Roger said looking over at the bedroom door.

"She'll be fine sweetie. Don't worry about it. Why don't you and the boys finish putting the stuff in the baby's room and I'll go check on her." Mrs. Davis said looking over at him.

"Thanks mom." Roger smiled before helping Collins, Mark and Mr. Davis put the rest of the baby's stuff in the Fiona's old room.

"Are you OK sweetie?" Mrs. Davis asked looking into the bedroom.

"Um... yeah, I'm fine." she covered as she breathed in and out.

"No you're not. What happened?" she asked rushing into the bedroom.

"You can't tell Roger. He's gonna freak out." she said looking over at her.

"Sweetie, just tell me what happened." she asked looking over at her.

"I think I'm having contractions, but it's too soon." she said looking over at her as tears formed in her eyes.

"They could be Braxton Hicks contractions. Why don't we walk around a little?" she said looking down at her.

"They're really strong mom. But it's too early. It's way too early." she said looking over at her.

"Calm down sweetie. Come on, let's walk around." she said helping her up from the bed and walked around with her.

"What if something's wrong? I'm only 7 months pregnant." she said looking over at her.

"Nothing is wrong sweetie. Don't jump to conclusions. It could be nothing. Just walk around and the pains should go away." she said holding her around her back.

"How you doing Baby?" Roger asked entering the bedroom. "What happened?" he asked rushing over to them.

"I'm fine Roger. I'm just having those Braxton Hicks things. It's nothing." she said looking up at him trying to hide the pain she was feeling in her abdomen.

"No you're not fine Fee. How long have you been in pain?" he asked looking down at her.

"Not long. I just have to walk it off." she said looking up at him.

"Fee, were you even gonna tell me if I didn't walk in here?" he asked looking down at her.

"It depends on whether or not they went away." she said looking up at him.

"Roger, why don't you walk your wife around the bedroom? I'm gonna go get her some water." Mrs. Davis said looking up at Roger as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Baby, I'm worried. You're only 7 months pregnant. It's not time yet." he said looking down at her.

"Roger, I'm fine." she said looking up at him before clutching her lower abdomen and doubling over in pain. "Oh my God." she called out as he caught her.

"What's the matter Fee?" he asked looking down at her.

"It hurts Roger." she cried looking up at him as he brought her over to the bed.

"I got you Baby. Dad, call an ambulance. Now." he called out sitting with her on the bed.

"What happened?" Collins asked running into the bedroom.

"Fee's having contractions. We have to get her to the hospital right away." he called out looking over at Fiona who was scared.

"Roger, the baby" she cried looking up at him.

"It's OK Baby. I'm gonna take care of you." he said holding her in his arms as Mr. Davis called the ambulance.

* * *

"What's going on? What did the doctor say?" Collins asked rushing over to Roger as he came down the hallway.

"She's gonna be fine. She just needs to be on bedrest until the baby's born. They gave her something to stop the contractions but she's gonna be here until the baby's born." he said looking over at them going towards the vending machine to get coffee.

"Is she OK? Can we see her?" Mrs.Davis asked looking up at him.

"Yeah, they just want her to rest. They're afraid if she doesn't calm down her water's gonna break and then the baby'll be born too early." he said looking down at the coffee maker.

"Are you OK son?" Mr. Davis asked looking up at Roger.

"No. Dad what if the baby comes early? He'll have to be in an incubator and may need to be on a respirator. He may not survive. The doctors want her to go as long as possible, but I'm scared that he's not gonna wait that long." he said not looking up at him, but it was obvious that he was crying.

"Listen to me Roger. This boy is a Davis and if he is anything like his father, he's a fighter. He's not gonna give up with out a fight. He's gonna make it. You have to believe that." he said putting is hand on his sons shoulder.

"I hope so dad. If anything happens to him or Fee... I don't know what I'm gonna do." he cried looking up at him.

"Don't worry Roger. Angel and Mimi got your back. They're not gonna let anything happen to them. You gotta believe that." Collins said looking down at him.

"I wish I could." he said starting to wipe his eyes. "I gotta go back in to Fee. I'll keep you guys updated." he said looking up at him before taking his coffee and going back into Fiona's hospital room.

"How are you feeling Baby?" he asked as he entered the room.

"I'm so scared Roger. What if the baby is born too early? I don't want anything to happen to him." she said looking up at him.

"Nothing is gonna happen to him Baby. You both are gonna be fine. You have to believe that." he said kneeling next to the bed.

"I just hope he takes after his father." she said looking over at him.

"His mother's a strong lady too." he said taking her hand and kissing her hand.

"I don't feel so strong Roger." she said looking down at him trying not to cry.

"You are Fee. You're the strongest woman I know." he said clutching her hand tight.

"I'm really tired Roger. I'm gonna rest for a little while, OK? Why don't you go get some fresh air? You look exhausted." she said looking over at him.

"I'm not leaving you Fee. I'm staying right here." he insisted looking up at her.

"I love you Roger." she smiled looking down at him.

"I love you too Fee. Both of you." he whispered leaning up to kiss her.

"I know Roger. We both know." she whispered closing her eyes and falling asleep. Roger sat in the chair nex to the bed and drank his coffee. He kept an eye on the fetal monitor and stared at the baby's heartbeat. He prayed his son would be strong enough to hold on until he was developed enough to survive outside of Fiona's womb.


	21. Chapter 21

_A Month Later_

"Hi Mr. Davis. Did you sleep well?" the nurse asked as Roger came out of Fiona's room where he had been staying for a month. He had been going home to shower and change his clothes, but he always stayed with Fiona. When he went home, Collins or Mark would stay with her.

"Yeah, I guess." he smiled looking over at her.

"Would you like coffee? We just made a fresh pot." she smiled looking over at him.

"Sure. It's better than the crap in the waiting room." he laughed quietly looking over at her.

"How's Fiona and the baby?" she asked as he followed her to the nurses station.

"Good. Fiona's still sleeping and the baby's heartbeat is still strong." he smiled looking over at her.

"I'm glad to hear it. I'll let her sleep for a little while longer and then check on her. I know how she hates being woken up so early in the morning." she laughed looking up at him.

"Yeah, she's getting pretty cranky stuck in bed like that." he smiled looking down at her.

"I don't blame her. This whole ordeal must be really hard on you both. But the baby seems to be fine now. He can be born any day now and he'll be fine." she smiled looking up at him.

"Thank you. I really appreciate everything that you've been doing for them. They're my life." he smiled looking over at her before taking the coffee cup from her.

"I know Mr. Davis. Don't worry about it. Your wife and son are gonna be fine." she smiled looking up at him.

"Thanks. I'm gonna go check on them. Thanks for the coffee." he smiled motioning towards the coffee cup.

"No problem Mr. Davis. I'll check in on her in a minute." she smiled as Roger left the nurses station and went back to Fiona's hospital room.

"Where did you go?" she asked quietly looking over at him.

"For some coffee. How did you sleep?" he asked looking down at her.

"Fine. How's the baby?" she asked looking up at him.

"The nurse said that he's out of the woods. He can be born any day now and he'll be fine." he smiled leaning down to kiss her head.

"Thank God. He had me scared for a minute there." she smiled looking down at her very pregnant belly.

"Me too. But he's a Davis. He's thick headed and strong as hell." he laughed leaning down to kiss her belly.

"Yeah, and as stubborn as his father." she smiled looking up at him.

"Do you want breakfast?" he asked looking down at her.

"Nah, I'm not hungry yet. Have you seen or spoken to anyone yet?" she asked looking up at him.

"Not yet. I just woke up. I'll call them later. Baby, you really should eat something." he said looking down at her.

"I know. Just gimme a little while." she smiled looking up at him.

"OK Baby." he smiled looking down at her before going to sit down in the chair that had become his bed for the last month.

"OK, we were on S for baby names. How about Sean?" she asked looking over at him.

"Sean Davis? I don't know Fee. How about Spike?" he asked smiling over at her.

"Spike Davis? You're kidding, right?" she laughed looking up at him.

"Why not? It's cool. No one will mess with him." he said looking over at her.

"Not happening. How about Stefan?" she asked looking over at him.

"No way. Not Stefan." he said looking over at him.

"OK, now we're on T. How about Thaddeus?" she asked looking over at him.

"Thaddeus Davis? Um, no. I don't think so. How about Theodore?" he asked looking over at her.

"Theo. I like that one. Put that one on the list." she smiled looking over at him.

"Baby, we have like 25 names on the list. We're only having one baby. We're gonna have to skim it down some more." he said looking over at her.

"I know I just want to narrow it down. OK How about Thornton?" she asked looking over at him.

"You've been watching too many soap opera Baby." he laughed looking over at her.

"I take that as a no." she laughed looking over at him.

"You got that right. How about Trey?" he asked looking over at her.

"Oooh I like that one. Put that one on the list too. Um, how about Tucker?" she asked looking over at him.

"I like that one too." he smiled writing it on the list as he thought of another name. "OK how about Tyler?" he asked looking over at her.

"See, I like that one too." she smiled looking over at him.

"We're not getting very far, are we?" he laughed looking up from the list.

"I guess not. But it passes the time. OK how about Thomas?" she smiled looking over at him.

"After Collins?" he asked looking up at her.

"Yeah, why not? He is responsible for us meeting." she smiled looking up at him.

"OK Baby. Thomas goes on the list." he smiled writing the name on the piece of paper.

"OK, what else?" she asked looking up at him.

"How about we quit at T and just go over the ones we have and try to narrow it down." he said looking over at her.

"OK, but we have to be picky. I mean really picky. And then once we narrow it down to about 5 names, we'll run it by everyone and we'll all vote." she suggested looking over at her.

"That's a great idea, but Baby how are we gonna narrow it down? These are some really great names." he said looking over at her.

"I know, but we have to Roger. I am not torturing our son with a million names. We just need 2." she laughed looking over at him.

"OK Fee. We'll find two names for him, don't worry about it." he smiled looking over at her.

"You know what? I think I'm gonna have breakfast now. And tell the nurse the coast is clear. I'm up now. I know she's afraid of me in the mornings." she laughed looking over at him.

"She's not afraid of you Fee." he laughed looking over at her.

"Oh yeah, that's why she tip toes around me since last week when I snapped at her for waking me up at 7 am." she asked looking up at him.

"OK, maybe she's a little afraid of you. But she understands that you're on edge." he said looking over at her.

"Thanks Baby." she smiled looking over at him as he leaned down to kiss her head before going outside to the nurses station to get the nurse and some breakfast for Fiona.

* * *

"Hey Babygirl. How you doing today?" Collins asked as he entered the hospital room.

"I feel much better. The baby is out of the woods and he could be born any day now and be fine." she smiled looking over at him.

"That is great news Babygirl. I'm so proud of you and our little boy in there. You guys really hung in there." he smiled leaning down to kiss her head.

"Yeah we're fighters. A trait we learned from you and Roger." she smiled looking up at him.

"No way Babygirl. That was all you. You gave this little boy his fighting spirit. There is no doubt in my mind." he smiled looking down at her.

"Anyway, now all we have to do is figure out what we're gonna call this little guy." she smiled looking up at him.

"You guys have been holed up in this room for a month and you still haven't found a name for the little squirt?" he asked looking down at her.

"We've been collecting names we like, but nothing has popped yet. I was thinking I want to name him after you." she smiled looking over at him.

"Why would you name him Collins?" he asked sitting in the chair next to her bed.

"Not Collins, Thomas. You are responsible for us meeting. I thought it was only right." she smiled looking over at him.

"I'm honored Babygirl, but you don't have to do that." he said looking over at her.

"I would like to. I mean, you're the first person who made me feel like I wasn't alone in this world. Like you were my family. I mean, sure Mark and Roger have been here to protect me, but you're the one Collins. You're the one who took my personal safety into your hands no matter what. There was always a chance Jake was gonna come to your class and try to make you tell him where I was, but you didn't care. You brought me to the loft anyway." she smiled looking over at him.

"And they would have gotten the same answer out of me that they got out of Roger. I would have told them to go to hell. Let them beat the crap out of me. I've been gay for many years. It wouldn't be the first time I got my ass kicked. I promised you I would make sure you were safe and I fully intended on keeping that promise." he smiled looking over at her.

"Yeah well, you're the first person who ever made me feel like I wasn't alone. You have no idea how much that means to me Collins." she smiled looking over at him.

"Yeah I do Babygirl. You're my family too. You love me for who I am, no matter what. And I love you." she smiled leaning over to take her hand.

"I do love you Collins. I trusted you with my life and look. I have a husband who loves me more than I ever thought possible and I'm about to have our child. I never thought I'd ever be this happy, but here I am and that's because of you." she smiled looking over at him.

"No way Babygirl. You and Roger always belonged together. I just brought you to him." he smiled bringing her hand up to his lips and kissing it.

"Thank you Collins." she smiled looking down at him.

"Don't mention it Babygirl." he smiled looking over at her as he held her hand tighter.


	22. Chapter 22

"Are you ready Baby?" Roger asked as she lay on a gurney in the delivery room.

"Roger we don't have a name for him yet. How can he be born with no name?" she asked looking over at him.

"Well ready or not Fiona, here he comes. I just need you to push right now, OK?" the doctor asked looking over at her.

"How about Caleb? Caleb Thomas Davis." she asked breathing heavily looking over at Roger.

"It's perfect Baby. Now come on, you have to push now, OK. Caleb needs you." he smiled kissing her head.

"OK Baby." she smiled beginning to push.

"You're doing great Fiona. Relax for a minute, OK? At the next contraction, push again, OK?" the doctor said looking over at her.

"OK." she breathed leaning back on the gurney.

"You're doing amazing Baby. I love you." Roger smiled leaning down to kiss her again.

"I am so tired Roger. I don't know if I can do this." she told him seeming out of breath.

"You can do this Fee. You're the strongest woman I know." he said looking down at her.

"OK Fiona, you need to start pushing again, OK?" the doctor smiled looking over at her.

"OK." she breathed beginning to push again. As she continued to push the baby emerged.

"OK Fiona, you can relax now." the doctor smiled looking over at her.

"How is he? Is he OK?" she asked looking up at him.

"He's perfect. Hello little Caleb Thomas Davis. We're just gonna clean you up a little bit and then we're gonna introduce you to your mommy and daddy." the doctor smiled looking down at the crying baby in his arms.

"He looks so perfect Fee." Roger smiled leaning down to kiss her head.

"Is he really OK Roger?" she asked looking up at him.

"Of course he is Baby. He's the most perfect baby I've ever seen." he smiled looking down at her as the nurse brought the baby to her.

"Here you go mommy." the nurse smiled handing the baby to Fiona.

"Hey little man. You look just like your daddy." she smiled looking down at him as tears fell from her eyes.

"Yeah, he is my carbon copy, isn't he?" he smiled looking down at him.

"Look at that cute little chin." she smiled looking down at him.

"I love you Fiona. I love you." he smiled leaning down to kiss her as he looked down at the baby.

"Roger, you should go out and tell everyone that me and Caleb are fine." she smiled looking over at him.

"I will Baby. I just don't want to leave you." he said looking down at her.

"It's OK Roger. Me and Caleb are fine. Go. They've been waiting for this for a long time. I'll just meet you in my room." she smiled looking over at him.

"We're gonna need to take the baby to get him cleaned up and then we'll bring him into your room." the nurse smiled looking down at them.

"See Roger. They're kicking me out of here too. It's OK. Really." she smiled looking up at him.

"I love you Fee." he smiled looking down at her.

"I love you too Roger." she smiled leaning up to kiss her.

"I love you Caleb." he whispered leaning down to kiss his head before leaving the room.

"OK Caleb, you be good for the nurses and mommy and daddy will see you in a little while, OK? I love you so much my sweet little boy." she smiled looking down at the baby who was quietly looking up at her with blue eyes. "Oh your daddy is gonna be in so much trouble if you keep those blue eyes." she laughed looking down at him.

"I happen to know he's already in trouble with your blue eyes." the nurse smiled leaning down to take the baby from her.

"Yeah, he always was a ball of fluff." Fiona smiled looking up at her before laying her head back. She was exhausted, but after 7 hours of labor, Caleb Thomas Davis was born. When her labor had started, Roger called everyone and they rushed to the hospital, so they could be there for the birth of the bohemian baby. Mr. And Mrs. Davis came in from Yonkers and brought snacks and coffee for everyone. They were excited that the baby was healthy enough to be born. After being in the hospital for a month and a half, she was ready to go home.

"He's healthy. He's beautiful and he's healthy." Roger smiled rushing out to the waiting room to deliver the news.

"What's his name?" Mr. Davis smiled looking over at him.

"Caleb. Caleb Thomas Davis." he smiled looking over at Collins.

"I can't believe Babygirl named the baby after me. That's wild." he said looking over at him.

"She says you helped save her life or something. I think it's because she was afraid that if she didn't you'd try to corrupt him." he laughed looking over at him.

"I'm gonna corrupt him anyway." he smiled reaching out to hug him. "Congratulations man." he smiled looking over at him.

"Thanks man. I can't believe I'm a dad." he said looking over at them.

"You're gonna be a great dad son. He's a lucky boy." Mr. Davis smiled hugging his son.

"I hope so. I'm responsible for this whole other life now. It was different when it was just me and Fee. Now we have Caleb to take care of and I don't want to screw it up." he said looking over at him.

"You won't screw it up Roger. You're gonna be a great father to this little boy." Mark smiled looking over at him.

"Thanks Mark." he smiled looking over at them.

"When do I get to see my daughter and my grandson?" Mrs. Davis asked looking over at Roger.

"Soon, they're moving Fee into her room and their cleaning the baby before they bring him to her." he smiled looking over at them.

"Why don't we all get some coffee and then we'll go in and see Fiona and Caleb when they're ready." Mr. Davis smiled looking over at them.

"You guys go ahead. Just bring me back a cup. Black no sugar." he smiled looking over at them.

"OK Roger. Tell Fee we're here and we love her." Mrs. Davis smiled leaning up to kiss his cheek.

"I will mom. Thanks. For everything. I'm glad you guys are all here." he said looking over at her.

"We love you guys Roger. Congratulations." Maureen smiled as she and Joanne held hands next to him.

"Thanks. We love you too." he smiled looking down at them.

"Give Fee our love." Mr. Davis smiled looking over at him.

"I will dad. Don't worry. She already knows." he smiled looking over at him before they all left and went to the hospital room he saw Fiona sleeping. She looked so peaceful. The labor was hard on her and she barely made it through the delivery, so he knew she was tired. He quietly walked over to the chair next to the bed and sat down. He couldn't help but notice how beautiful she looked. When the door opened, it was the nurse with the baby. "Shh, she's sleeping." he whispered looking up at her.

"She's had a rough day, huh?" she whispered as the baby slept in the bassinette.

"Yeah, you can say that. How's he doing?" he asked getting up to go to the baby.

"7 pounds 6 ounces 19 inches. He's perfect." she smiled looking up at him.

"Of course he is, look at his mother." he smiled looking back at Fiona who was still sleeping.

"You can pick him up. I don't think he'll wake up. He's had a rough day too." she smiled looking down at the baby.

"Yeah, my tough little guy." he whispered smiling down at the baby before reaching in to pick him up.

"He's beautiful Mr. Davis." the nurse smiled as Roger cradled him in his arms.

"He's the most perfect little guy I've ever seen." he smiled looking down at the baby.

"I'll leave you alone to bond with your son." she smiled looking over at him.

"Thanks for everything." he smiled looking over at her.

"No problem Mr. Davis. I'm glad everything worked out OK." she smiled before leaving the room.

"Hey Caleb Thomas. You are gonna be the most loved little boy there ever was." he smiled leaning down to kiss his head.

"Roger, is that you?" Fiona grumbled coming out of her sleep.

"Go back to sleep Baby. We're fine." he whispered walking over to her.

"Is the baby OK?" she asked looking up at him.

"He's perfect Fee. 7 pounds 6 ounces 19 inches." he smiled looking down at her.

"He is so beautiful Roger. I'm so glad he looks like you." she smiled looking up at them.

"But I'm glad he has your eyes." he smiled sitting on the bed next to her.

"Most babies who are born with blue eyes don't usually keep them. He could very well end up with green eyes like his handsome, amazing daddy." she smiled looking up at him.

"I love you so much Fee." he smiled looking down at her.

"I know Roger. I love you so much too." she yawned looking up at him.

"If you're tired, you should go back to sleep. Everybody's waiting to come in and see you and Caleb and you know there's no resting after that." he laughed looking over at her.

"Yeah, I know." she smiled looking up at him.

"Get some rest Fee, I got him." he smiled looking down at the baby.

"You are such a good daddy Roger. I hope Caleb knows how lucky he is to have you." she smiled looking over at him.

"I'm lucky to have you Fee. Without you, I wouldn't have... well, I wouldn't have anything." he said looking over at her.

"Me too Roger. Me too." she smiled before closing her eyes and falling back to sleep.

"OK Caleb. It's just you and me. Come on, let's go over there so we don't wake up mommy." he smiled looking down at the baby as he rocked him in his arms.

"Knock knock. Is Fiona sleeping?" Mrs. Davis whispered looking up at Roger.

"Yeah, be quiet. She just fell back to sleep." he whispered standing by the door.

"Is this my little grandson?" she asked looking over at him.

"No mom, he's a loaner. Of course this is him. Mom, this is Caleb." he laughed quietly looking up at her.

"He looks just like you did when you were a baby. Look at that chin. He's gonna be a strong little boy." she smiled looking over at him.

"He already is. With a mom like Fee." he smiled looking over at Fiona who was sound asleep in the bed.

"I love how you look at her." Mr. Davis smiled looking up at him.

"How can I look at her any differently? She's my wife and she gave me a son. I love her so much dad." he smiled looking over at her.

"He is a good looking boy. You should be proud of her. She did good." he said looking over at him.

"She sure did dad." he smiled looking down at the baby who was still sleeping in his arms.


	23. Chapter 23

"_Have I told you lately, that I love you. Have I told you, there's no one else above you._" Fiona sang to the baby before noticing Roger standing in the doorway of the baby's room. "Hey Baby." she smiled looking up at him.

"Why did you stop?" he asked smiling at her.

"I didn't realize you were in the doorway." she smiled looking up at him.

"You're really good Fee. How come you don't sing more often?" he asked looking over at her.

"I don't know. You're the singer in the family, not me." she smiled as he approached her.

"But you're really good. Caleb seems to like it." he smiled looking down at her.

"Yeah well, music always calms him down. But I'm not you." she smiled as the baby slept in her arms.

"Yeah well, no one could be me." he laughed quietly leaning down to kiss her.

"And you're so modest too." she laughed quietly. "I'm gonna put him down." she smiled looking up at him.

"Are you OK Fee?" he asked looking up at her as she got up and put the baby down in his crib.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just really tired." she said looking up at him.

"Why don't you go lay down for a little while? Little man has been keeping you up every night since we got him home from the hospital." he suggested looking down at her.

"Yeah and big man has been keeping me up the rest of the time." she laughed looking up at him.

"I'm sorry Baby. I just like spending time with my wife." he smiled leaning down to kiss her.

"I know. I like spending time with you too. I just need some sleep." she said wrapping her arms around his waist.

"I'll take care of little man so you can take a nap, OK Baby?" he asked looking down at her.

"OK, thanks Baby." she smiled looking up at him before going into their bedroom.

"I love you Fee." he said looking down at her.

"I love you too Roger." she smiled before closing the bedroom door.

"Where's Fee?" Mark asked looking over at Roger who was sitting on the couch in the living area watching tv.

"She's sleeping. Little man has been keeping her up every night. And there he is now." he smiled getting up and going into the baby's room when he started to cry. "Hey buddy, what's the problem? Daddy's here." he asked quietly as he leaned into the crib to pick him up.

"Is he OK?" Mark asked rushing into the nursery from his room.

"Yeah Mark, he's fine. Baby's cry. It's how they communicate. Little man just needed some company. Didn't you?" he asked looking down at the baby as he felt the baby's diaper to see if he needed to be changed. "And a diaper change." he laughed putting the baby on the changing table starting to change him.

"This is so weird." Mark laughed amused as he watched Roger in full dad mode.

"What's weird?" he asked opening the diaper.

"Seeing you with him. I never thought I'd ever see you as a dad and now that you are one, you're really amazing with him." he smiled folding his arms across his chest as he leaned against the wall.

"Can you keep a secret?" he asked looking over at Mark before continuing to change him.

"What's up?" he asked walking towards him.

"I never wanted a kid. I always figured I'd be a shitty dad. I mean, I was so consumed with my music and with my HIV, I figured I wouldn't be around much for my kid, but now I can't imagine my life without him. Him and Fee are my life Mark. I don't want to leave them." he said picking the baby up from the changing table to hold him in his arms.

"Yeah, kids have a way of doing that to you." he smiled looking over at him.

"Mark, you don't understand. I don't want to leave them ever. I want to live forever for them. It's making me regret everything I've ever done in my life that is gonna prevent me from being with them until I'm old and gray." he said looking over at him noticing Fiona standing in the doorway with tears in her eyes. "Fee, how much of that did you hear?" he asked looking up at her.

"All of it. Baby monitor." she whispered holding the monitor in her hand.

"Mark, can you...?" he started before handing him the baby.

"Sure. I'm gonna go make him a bottle." he answered quietly before taking the baby and leaving the room with him.

"I'm sorry Fee. I know you don't like when I talk like that." he said walking over to her.

"I can't imagine my life without you either. Me or Caleb, but he's my part of you. When you're gone, I'm still gonna have a part of you with me. And he's gonna know what a great man his father is." she cried looking up at him.

"Baby, I'm not going anywhere yet. And if I can help it, I'm not going anywhere for a long time. I promise." he whispered taking her in his arms.

"How can you promise that Roger?" she said looking up at him.

"I'm gonna do everything I can do to be here for as much of Caleb's life as I can be." he said looking down at her.

"But Roger, you know as well as I do that you can't control this disease. It controls you." she said looking up at him.

"Fee, I'm gonna do whatever I can do to be here for you and Caleb for as long as this disease let's me." he said kissing her head as he held back his own tears.

"I'm sorry Roger. I shouldn't be acting like this. I've known about your HIV since we met. It's not like it's anything new." she said looking up at him.

"Baby, it's OK. It's not fair that I'm gonna be taken away from you and Caleb sooner than I should be. I'm just happy I get to share what's left of my life with the woman I love more than anything in this world and our son. That's got to be enough for me now." he said leaning down to kiss her.

"Roger, every minute with you is enough for me." she smiled through her tears.

"Come on. Why don't we let Uncle Mark feed the baby, we can go out and grab something to eat. I want to take my wife out and spend time alone with you." he smiled looking down at her as he wiped her tears from her face.

"OK Roger. I'd like that." she smiled looking up at him as he leaned down to kiss her again.

"I love you Fee." he whispered looking into her blue eyes.

"I know Roger. I love you too." she smiled before they left the baby's room to tell Mark they were going out for a little while.

"OK, so I was thinking. I want to go back to school." he said looking across the table at her as they sat in the Life Cafe.

"You want to go back to school? Really?" she asked confused.

"Yeah, I liked going to school. I mean, before I got my ass kicked and we had to drop out. I was thinking we could go back together. You're too smart not to get your degree." he said looking down at her.

"I don't know Roger. I mean, I got the baby now. Who would take care of him while we're in school?" she asked looking up at him.

"Mark. I already talked to him and he said he would love to do it. He'll take him to the park with him and you know how much he loves spending time with his nephew. And when he can't do it, you know Maureen is at his beck and call. I swear, for a chic who hates men, she sure loves Caleb." he laughed looking over at her.

"You've got this all worked out, don't you?" she asked smiling up at him.

"Yeah I do. I want to finish school." he smiled looking over at her.

"OK. We'll do it." she smiled looking over at him.

"Really? That was easy." he laughed looking over at her.

"Well we have no shortage of babysitters and we both want to go back to school, so why not? We can do it." she smiled looking over at him.

"Yesss. Thanks Baby." he smiled leaning over the table to kiss her.

"Well who am I to keep you from going back to school?" she smiled looking over at him.

"Maybe we can take a couple of classes together too." he smiled looking over at her.

"Oh yeah, I see you in philosophy class." she laughed looking over at him.

"Or maybe you can take some music classes." he smiled looking over at her.

"That sounds like fun. Maybe we can write songs together." she smiled looking up at him.

"And maybe we can perform together." he smiled looking over at her.

"Are you serious? Us perform together?" she asked looking over at him.

"Baby, you have an amazing voice." he told her moving next to her.

"But Roger, why didn't you ever say anything about it." she asked as he put his arm around her chair.

"Well, at first we were hiding out from Jake and then we were planning the wedding and then you got pregnant with Caleb. It's been a busy couple of years Baby. But now that Caleb's here and we don't have to worry about Jake finding us... I want to sing with you." he said looking down at her.

"Are you sure? I mean, really sure?" she asked looking up at him.

"I'm positive Baby. You sing amazing. It's the only thing that can calm Caleb down sometimes." he smiled looking over at her.

"OK Baby, I'll do it." she smiled looking over at him.

"This is gonna be awesome Baby, you'll see. We're gonna have so much fun." he smiled leaning in to kiss her.


	24. Chapter 24

"Fee, we gotta go." Roger called out from the kitchen where he was washing out his coffee cup.

"I'm coming." she yelled standing in the baby's room with Mark giving him directions. "And if he gets fussy, try to sing that Rod Stewart song I sing to him. He loves it, for some weird reason. Oh and don't forget Blinky. He looks for him when he wakes up." she said handing Mark the baby.

"I got it Fee. I know how to take care of my nephew. Go. Have fun at school. Don't worry about me and Caleb. We'll be fine. I promise." he laughed amused by her over protective mothering nature.

"Well this is the first time I'm leaving him all day and I'm gonna miss my little man." she smiled leaning over to kiss Caleb's head. "I love you my baby boy. Mommy's gonna miss you so much." she smiled looking over at him as he reached out for her.

"Not now little man. Mommy and daddy have to go to school. You be good for Uncle Mark, OK?" Roger smiled kissing Caleb's head.

"Go Fee. He's gonna be fine." Mark smiled holding the baby back from her as he started playing with Mark's glasses.

"Don't let him break those on you, OK? Soon we're gonna have to look into getting you contacts or something. He's obsessed with those." Fiona smiled looking over at him.

"Don't worry. We'll be fine, just go. You don't want to be late for your first day at school. Now stay away from the bullies and don't get mixed up in the wrong crowd." Mark teased looking over at them.

"Too late. I married the leader of the wrong crowd." Fiona laughed looking up at Roger who had wrapped his arms around her waist from behind her.

"And you know you love it." he laughed leaning down to kiss her neck.

"Good bye Mark. I love you. I love you too my little man." she smiled as she and Roger left the loft.

"Are you OK Baby?" Roger asked looking down at her as they closed the loft door.

"Yeah, I'm OK. Separating anxiety. I'll be OK once we get to school." she laughed staring at the door.

"Come on Baby. Collins is waiting." he laughed looking down at her.

"I know. He's really excited about having me back in his class." she smiled looking up at him.

"Yeah well, he always did call you his favorite student." he laughed looking down at her.

"That's only because I married his best friend and gave birth to his Godson." she laughed looking up at him.

"You know that's not the only reason. He always said you were his smartest student. You're the only one who really got what he was teaching." he smiled wrapping his arms around her.

"Yeah well, I guess I'm a think outside the box type of person like he is." she smiled looking up at him.

"And you're the smartest chic I know." he smiled leaning down to kiss her.

"And then there's that." she laughed looking up into his green eyes.

"Come on Baby. We gotta get to school." he smiled looking down at her.

"OK Baby. Let's go." she smiled as they went down the stairs and left the building.

* * *

"I'll meet up with you after class, OK Baby?" Roger smiled standing outside the music building.

"OK. We can go for coffee." she smiled looking up at him.

"Good luck Baby. I love you." he smiled leaning down to kiss her.

"I love you too Roger. Bye." she laughed watching him go into the building.

"Your husband looks good. It would be a shame if he got his pretty little head beat in again." a voice asked as she walked across campus to the philosophy building.

"Jake, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in jail?" she asked as she slowly turned around.

"I'm out awaiting appeal. My lawyer said it could take up to a year for a decision." he said walking over to her.

"What do you want Jake?" she asked folding her arms across her chest.

"I just want to see how you were doing. I'm glad you're back in school. You're too smart to be a baby making groupie for that guy." he said looking down at her.

"That guy happens to be a million times that man you will ever be. He doesn't have to hurt and intimidate people to get places in this world. He's talented and giving." she said looking up at him.

"Is that why you're still living in that crappy loft in the village? You know, you always deserved better than that place." he said looking down at her.

"I happen to like that crappy loft in the village. At least we live an honest life without hurting people." she smiled looking up at him.

"Yeah well, I could have given you and your son the kind of life you deserve. You could have lived like a princess. How is your boy by the way? He's getting so big." he told her moving closer to her.

"You don't talk about my son Jake. You have no part in his life." she yelled pointing in his face.

"He could have the best of everything Fiona. Just like I tried to do for you until you turned me in." he said looking down at her.

"Jake, it's over. I will never go back to you. My life is with Roger. You chasing after us, beating Roger up and threatening our lives didn't make me go back to you. What makes you think promising me the world for me and my son will? Just move on Jake. I have." she said walking away from him.

"This is not over Fiona. It's not over until I say it's over." he yelled as she walked away.

"You're not gonna want to talk to her like that, friend." Roger said coming up behind him.

"And what are you gonna do about it, rock star wannabe?" he asked turning to find himself face to face with Roger.

"Whatever I have to do to protect my family. You came near my wife or son, you're gonna be praying for prison." he said looking down at him.

"We'll see pretty boy." Jake said leaving Roger standing in the quad.

* * *

"I'm gonna kill that son of a bitch. Mark my words Fee. He comes near you or Caleb, that's it. It's over for him." Roger said as they walked home from the college.

"You're not gonna kill him Roger. Just ignore him. He's not gonna come after me or Caleb." she said stopping in the middle of the sidewalk trying to calm him down.

"I gotta call Mark and tell him to keep a really close eye on Caleb. Because if he does anything to him..." he said as Fiona cut him off.

"No Roger. I'm not gonna live my life looking over my shoulder again. We did it once and I'm not doing it again. We're not the criminals and I'm not gonna put Caleb through that." she said looking over at him with tears in her eyes.

"Fiona, I have to at least warn Mark that Jake is back on the radar. He needs to know so he could protect Caleb." he said reaching over to hold her hand.

"Maybe going back to school was a bad idea. At least for me. I should be home to protect Caleb." she said looking down at the table.

"No way Fee. You belong here. I'll stay home with Caleb. I'm his father and I can protect him better." he said moving closer to her.

"How can you protect him better Roger? Last time he beat you up so bad. He has a lot of friends who are willing to do anything he asks. This time, broken bones and stitches is not gonna be on the agenda. He'll kill you." she said looking up at him.

"So, I'm gonna have to be packing more than a back pack and my fists this time." he said looking over at her.

"You are not gonna get a gun Roger. I won't allow it." she said walking away from him.

"So what would you have me do Fee. Wait for him to make his next move? I have to do something to protect you and Caleb." he said quietly going after her.

"Yeah well, you're gonna have to do it without a gun. Because I am not gonna have him turn you into a criminal. That's not what I signed on for when we got together. You're better than that." she cried looking up at him.

"But Fee, being a good man is gonna get you and Caleb hurt." he said looking down at her.

"He's not gonna hurt me and Caleb. He wants me back. He's not gonna hurt me or Caleb. I'm just worried about you. If you get a gun, they're gonna get something better. No one is gonna win this." she said looking up at him.

"So what do we do Fee?" he asked looking down at her.

"I don't know. Just promise me that you're not gonna go looking for trouble." she told him quietly before burying her face in his chest.

"Fine Fee, I promise." he whispered kissing her head.


	25. Chapter 25

"Mark, don't let Caleb out of your sight. I mean it. Don't take your eyes off of him for a second." Roger urged quietly as Fiona dressed the baby.

"Don't worry Rog. I'm on it. I'm not gonna let that anyone anywhere near him." he said looking up at him.

"Thanks man. If anything happened to him..." he said running his fingers through his hair.

"Nothing is gonna happen to him Rog. I won't let it. He's my family too. Anyone touches him, they gotta get through me first." he told him looking so serious.

"Mark, you're not exactly the most intimidating guy. Hell Fee can kick the crap out of you." Roger laughed picturing Mark trying to protect Caleb.

"Gee thanks for the vote of confidence bro." Mark looked over at him hurt.

"That's not what I meant Mark. I'm just saying, these guys are dangerous. Do you remember what they did to me? All they have to do is knock you out and they can do whatever they want. By the time you come to, Caleb could be gone and then we got a really big problem because that means I'm gonna kill the son of a bitch and then I'll go upstate for 25 to life." he said looking over at him.

"So what do you want me to do Roger? Stay in the loft? Hire a body guard? I don't know what you expect me to do to protect him." he said looking over at him.

"You don't have to do anything Marky. Roger, stop scaring him. I'm not gonna have Mark and Caleb living in fear of Jake. I lived too long afraid of him and I'm not gonna have my son be raised like that. Did you forget about the time we spend running across country until they put him away? Sure there were some good times, but it was just us. I'm not gonna drag my son into this. I refuse." Fiona said looking up at Roger as he came out of the baby's room holding Caleb in her arms.

"Well then what do we do Fee, because right now, I'm out of answers." he asked going over to take Caleb out of her arms.

"I know exactly what to do. Stay here with Caleb and Mark. I'm going where I should have gone yesterday." she said rushing towards the door.

"Fee wait. What are you gonna do?" he asked handing the baby off to Mark as he followed her.

"Just stay here. I'll be back later. I promise." she said looking up at him before opening the door and rushing out.

"I don't like this Mark." he said looking back at Mark.

"Go, I'll stay here with Caleb. We're gonna stay in today just to be on the safe side." he said looking up at him.

"Thanks Mark. He said rushing after Fiona. When he got outside, he rushed to the corner. When he didn't see her, he ran down the block to the next corner, but he didn't see her. "Dammit." he yelled before going towards the police station.

* * *

"Jake, it's me. Open the damn door." she yelled standing on the steps of a large brownstone on the lower east side. "Jake, dammit open up." she yelled looking up at the window. Jake was standing at the window smiling.

"Fee, it's nice to see you. It's been a long time." the taller gentleman smiled as he opened the door.

"Bobby, just let me in. I need to talk to him right now." she said folding her arms across her chest.

"He's upstairs. He's been expecting you." he smiled looking down at her as he opened the door more.

"Yeah well, I'm not here to stay. Jake, get the hell down here." she yelled rushing into the brownstone.

"Fiona Baby. I've been waiting for you. So what do you think? I took your advice about the fireplace. I think it makes the place look homier." he smiled walking down the stairs.

"You son of a bitch. You will never get me back, you will never have my son and I will never love you. When the hell are you gonna get that through your head? You are a criminal and you belong in prison." she yelled looking up at him as he smiled down at her.

"That's what I always loved about you. Your spark. You always did get my blood pumping." he laughed walking away from her.

"You don't love me Jake. When you love someone you don't threaten their family. Why are you doing this anyway? I don't love you. I'm married to someone else and gave birth to his child." she asked looking up at him.

"I don't know what you see in him. He's so... pretty. It would be a shame is that pretty face of his got rearranged or something." he smiled looking over at her.

"You better not touch him Jake. If anything happens to him..." she started looking up at him.

"Why do you wanna be with that rocker boy wannabe? He can't give you what I can give you." he said looking over at her.

"What 10 to 15 for criminal facilitation? No thank you. Just leave my family alone Jake. I mean it." she yelled looking up at him.

"Or what? That pretty boy of yours is gonna kick my ass? Sweetheart, you know me better than that. I don't go down easily. Not like him anyway. I hear he's got a glass jaw." he smiled looking over at her.

"Dammit Jake, what are you gonna do?" she asked looking up at him.

"Let's just say, you better have your life insurance paid up." he smiled looking over at her.

"If I were you, my pretty boy husband would be the least of your problems. You come near my family, I'll unleash a wrath, the likes of which you have never seen before. Mark my words." she said looking up at him intently before turning around and leaving the brownstone.

"God I miss that woman." he smiled watching her leave.

"Boss, do you really think this is such a good idea. She seemed really pissed." Bobby asked looking down at Jake.

"Trust me Bobby. I got her right where I want her." he smiled turning and walking back up stairs.

"Baby, where the hell have you been?" Roger asked as Fiona entered the loft.

"I went to see Jake. He thinks it's a friggin game. He wants me back and he's gonna do whatever it takes." she said looking up at him.

"Are you insane? Fiona, what if he hurt you?" he asked lookng down at her.

"What the hell else was I gonna do? I couldn't sit here and wait for him to make his move. We have a life, a family." she said looking up at him.

"Yeah well, while you were walking into the tiger's cage, I went to the cops. They said because he threatened us, we could get a restraining order and they're gonna tail him so if he comes anywhere near us, they can pick him up." he said looking over at her.

"Yeah well, good thing we're not gonna have to wait that long." she said taking a small tape recorder out of her jacket pocket and handing it to Roger.

"What's this?" he asked looking down at it.

"I took matters into my own hands. I knew he would incriminate himself. Especially to me. I record all of my classes so I could study better. I wore a wire." she smiled as Mark started laughing.

"Fee, you really are a genius." he laughed looking over at her.

"And what if he found this on you." Roger asked looking over at her.

"I'm a genius remember? I know how to play stupid when I need to." she smiled looking up at him.

"What did he say?" Roger asked looking down at the tape recorder.

"Rewind it and see for yourself. But I think it's gonna be enough for the cops to actually get off their asses and do something now." she said looking up at him.

"Do I want to hear what he had to say?" he asked looking over at her.

"He wants to kill you Roger. And he's not afraid of you. He knows he can get to you." she said looking up at him.

"Oh he better be afraid of me. I'm gonna kill that son of a bitch." he said looking down at her.

"Roger, we need to get this to the cops right away, before he does something to you." she said looking up at him.

"I have a better idea. Where does he live?" he asked looking down at her.

"You are not going to see him. You'd be delivering yourself on a silver platter." she said looking up at him.

"I'm gonna talk to him, man to man. He leaves my family alone, I won't take this to the cops to dismantle his. It's the perfect deal." he told her reaching down to caress her face.

"Oh great. So you go see him to make this deal with him and you don't come back because you've made his job a whole lot easier for him." she yelled pulling away from him.

"Fee, I want this guy out of our lives for good. We put him in jail once and it didn't take. This is the only way we're gonna be rid of him once and for all." he said looking over at her.

"Yeah, but delivering yourself to the man who threatened to kill you... it's suicide Roger." she yelled starting to cry.

"Not it's not. I'm not going alone Fee. I'm taking Collins with me. Anything happens to me, he's gonna be able to tell the cops it was Jake." he said looking over at her.

"If anything happens to you? Roger, I'm not willing to take that chance with your life." she cried as Mark went to her knowing that she wasn't gonna let Roger near her.

"Roger, she's right. You going in there is suicide. The guy knows where we live, he knows where you go to school. He probably knows everything about you. He can find you anywhere he wants you. Why make it easier on the ass hole?" he asked looking over at his best friend.

"Because my husband always has to be the hero." she yelled wrapping his arms around her to comfort her.

"Not the hero. I just want this guy out of our lives once and for all." he said going over to Fiona.

"But Roger, you're making it too easy for him. He wants to kill you. I don't think you're getting the severity of that." she yelled turning to him.

"I'm getting that I don't want to live looking over my shoulder afraid for my family for the rest of my life. The guy's a business man, he's not an idiot. He knows a good deal when he hears it. He doesn't want to go back to jail and we want to get on with our lives. It's a win win." he said taking her face in his hands.

"And what if he kills you as soon as you walk in the door? Then your wife and son have to live without you sooner than we're ready to." she cried looking up at him.

"I'll be OK Fee. You have to believe that." he whispered looking down into her sad blue eyes.

"How do you know?" she asked looking up at him as tears continued to fall from her eyes.

"Because I love you and I have to fix this. For you and Caleb." he said leaning down to kiss her head as he wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him.

"But getting yourself killed is not the way to fix this." she cried looking up at him.

"I'll tell him that the cops know I'm there. He's not stupid. He's not gonna do anything to me that's gonna risk him going back to jail. I'll be OK Fee. Really." he whispered caressing her hair.

"I'm not gonna be able to talk you out of this, am I?" she asked looking up at him.

"Sorry Baby. It's something I have to do for you." he said looking down into her eyes.

"Just be careful Roger, OK? I don't want to lose you." she said looking over at him.

"I promise Baby. I'm gonna come home to you and it'll all be over." he smiled leaning down to kiss her.


	26. Chapter 26

As Roger approached the brownstone, Collins stood a couple of door down looking up at him. He was nervous for him. Sure he was big, but he was hardly intimidating. He didn't know what Roger could be thinking, but their friendship had been through so much that he trusted his judgment and had his back no matter what. Roger gave him a nervous look before knocking on the door. After 30 seconds, a large italian man answered the door. "Is he here?" Roger asked looking up at him.

"Hey prety boy. You know, you and your wife are making this way too easy on us." the italian man smiled opening the door wider for him.

"Listen gumbah, I really need to talk to him and I don't have time or patience for your Michael Corleone act." Roger said looking up at him as he entered the brownstone. When the italian guy closed the door, Collins got a bad feeling in his stomach. He moved closer to the brownstone and listened carefully for signs that Roger needed back up.

"Pretty boy. I guess you and your wife don't communicate very much. She didn't tell you I want you dead. Pity really. Looked like she loved you very much." Jake smiled coming down the stairs.

"She told me. I came here to make a little proposal to you. One that will benefit the both of us." Roger said looking up at him shoving his hands into his leather jacket.

"You see, I'm not looking to benefit anyone but myself. That's just the kind of guy I am. Call me crazy." he smiled lifting a cigar to his lips.

"You're gonna want to hear me out before you make any rash decisions." Roger said looking over at him taking out the tape recorder.

"Did wifey tape record me? See, that's one of the things I love about her. She's incredibly resourceful." he laughed lifting the cigar to his lips again.

"Yeah, she's a real smart lady. She got you on this tape making threats that would make your newly obtained freedom short lived. I'm proposing that you leave us alone and you get to stay a free man. It's that simple." Roger said holding the tape player up higher in his hands.

"What makes you think I'm not gonna kill you right now and make it seem like you just simply left her?" he asked looking over at him before pouring himself a drink.

"Because you know how smart Fee is. You know as well as I do that she wouldn't let me come here without police protection. They're outside right now. If I don't come out, they're gonna be swarming this place." he bluffed looking over at him confidently.

"Let you? You're not whipped, are you pretty boy?" he asked looking over at him.

"It's not whipped, it's called being in a relationship. See, had you known that before, you wouldn't have lost her. Oh, that and your little criminal enterprise." he said looking over at him.

"So what are you proposing exactly?" Jake asked looking up at him.

"You leave us alone, this tape never sees the light of day. You get to stay a free man." he said looking over at him.

"You really love her, don't you? I mean you must since you came here risking never walking out of here alive." Jake asked looking over at him.

"She's my life." he said looking up at him.

"You're hers too. I could tell. I've never seen her so worked up over anything before." he said looking over at him.

"Yeah well, she doesn't take kindly to people threatening her family. It's kind of a pet peeve of hers." he said looking up at him.

"Fair enough. Tell Fiona she doesn't have to keep looking over her shoulder. I'll leave her alone." he said setting the cigar down in the ashtray.

"You should quit those things. They'll kill ya." Roger told him starting to leave the brownstone.

"Roger." Jake called out looking up at him.

"Yeah?" he asked turning to look at him.

"Keep taking care of her, or we're gonna have problems." he said looking over at him cracking a smile.

"She's my family Jake. Her and our son are all that matter to me." he smiled before leaving the loft.

"Boss, do you want me to..." the itallian man asked looking over at him.

"No, leave him alone. From this moment on he's off limits." Jake smiled going back up the stairs.

"Rog, you're alive." Collins called out as Roger walked down the stairs.

"Was there any doubt?" he laughed looking down at him.

"So what did he say?" Collins asked curiously.

"He's gonna leave us alone." he said walking down the street.

"Just like that? Are you sure this is for real?" he asked looking over at him.

"You always said I could charm anyone into anything. He's a reasonable business man. It's the smart thing to do." he said smiling over at him.

"Fee is gonna be skeptical. You know she's not gonna believe that it's actually over." he said looking over at him.

"Don't worry. It's over." he smiled as they went home to the loft.

* * *

"How do you know he's telling the truth? He lies for a living." Fiona yelled pacing around the bedroom.

"Trust me he's telling the truth. I can tell. I told you he would know a good deal when he heard one." he said looking over at her smiling.

"I don't know if I trust him." she said looking over at him.

"Do you trust me?" he asked getting up to go to her.

"Of course I trust you. Roger, I trust you with my life." she smiled looking up at him.

"So trust me on this. It's over. Jake and I had a talk. Man to man. He's done playing games." he smiled reaching out for her.

"I hope you're right." she said leaning in to hold him in her arms.

"I am Fee. We're done looking over our shoulders." he smiled leaning down to kiss her head.

* * *

"So Babygirl, what are you gonna do now without the Godfather chasing after you?" Collins asked smiling up at her as they sat in the Life Cafe.

"I don't know. I guess since I'm done running, I don't need to stay here in bohemia anymore." she laughed looking up at Roger who was taken off guard.

"I'll give you, you don't have to stay in bohemia anymore." he laughed reaching out to hold her in his arms.

"I was thinking maybe me and Roger can start a band. He's been wanting me to sing with him." she laughed looking over at him.

"You're gonna sing? That's great Fee." Mark smiled looking over at her as Caleb slept in his carriage.

"That and get my degree. Finally." she smiled looking up at him.

"Good for you Fee. You've been trying to get that damn degree for what seems like forever." Maureen smiled looking over at her.

"I know. It's been a long road, but I'm finally gonna do it." she smiled looking up at Roger.

"Congratulations Baby." Roger smiled leaning down to kiss her head.

"I have you to thank for it. You not only protected me when I needed it, but you got me my freedom back. I don't have to worry about Jake coming after me or hurting you. You've really been there when I needed you. Through all of this." she smiled looking up at him.

"Well I love you Fee. I'll do anything for you." he smiled caressing her face with his thumbs.

"I love you too Roger." she smiled leaning up to kiss him as they continued to celebrate and hang out with their friends.

A/N: This is the end of Gimme Shelter. I hope you liked it. I look forward to your review on this and my other stories.


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